Christian Horner on Sergio Perez outqualifying Max Verstappen - “If we had a 24-race championship in Azerbaijan, he'd be pretty tough to beat”

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner praised Sergio Perez for his qualifying performance after he out-qualified his teammate Max Verstappen for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Perez's performances have been slipping drastically in recent races. Despite his best efforts, the 34-year-old racer has been unable to deliver results on par with his teammate. He has suffered two DNFs and finished the last 10 races out of the top five, pushing him to seventh place in the drivers' table. Meanwhile, Verstappen is still leading the charge for the Austrian team, with several strong performances this season.

Despite the odds, Perez was able to out-qualify Verstappen in Baku. On the last flying lap of Q3, Perez set a time of 1:41.813, about 0.2s faster than Verstappen at 1:42.023. He qualified fourth overall, behind Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, and Carlos Sainz.

Speaking with Sky Sports F1, the Red Bull team principal praised the skills of the 2x race winner at Baku.

"It makes no logical sense in that it is high-speed straights with barriers, 90-degree corners, but he (Perez) has always been magic around here. I think if we had a 24 race championship in Azerbaijan, he'd be pretty tough to beat... It's good to see him finding his confidence. Every session he's been on it," Horner said.

The same was shared by a Red Bull Racing fan page on X. Here's a look at the post.

Despite the fact that the streets of Baku suit Sergio Perez's driving style, Horner believes he would be willing to follow team orders to help Max Verstappen in the race on Sunday.

"Team orders are always a contentious subject, but Checo knows 100% what his role and job is – to support Max to the end of this championship – and obviously the constructors."

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"All of a sudden Max has come into similar issues" - Sergio Perez claimed Max Verstappen is facing the same issues with RB20 as him

It is no secret that Red Bull drivers Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen have been facing issues with the RB20. The Mexican driver recently claimed that the reigning world champion is now in the same boat as he was in the last 10 races.

Perez, a six-time F1 race winner, has not been able to able to optimize results since the Miami Grand Prix. He has struggled to find a good balance with his car since Red Bull Racing brought a few upgrades in China. Although Verstappen was able to push the car to the limits, he too has now started to face those issues.

“I really feel like I’m in the same boat as I’ve been in for the last eight, 10 races but now all of a sudden Max has come into similar issues so yeah, a little bit of a confusion there but it is clear in the data where the problem is,” Sergio Perez said in a post-race interaction at Monza.

This was largely evident at Baku's qualifying session, where Sergio Perez was able to outperform Verstappen in Q3, ending a 33-race steak of being beaten by the triple world champion. Despite the challenges, Perez believes that Red Bull Racing will be able to bounce back soon.