Watch: Red Bull boss Christian Horner involved in tense interview with F1 pundit as he defends Sergio Perez

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner vehemently defended Sergio Perez in a tense interview with F1 pundit Natalie Pinkham at the Dutch Grand Prix on Friday. Heading into the summer break, there were reports that the Austrian team might replace Perez with =Daniel Ricciardo or Liam Lawson to partner alongside Max Verstappen for the remainder of the season.

However, the world champions stuck with the 34-year-old by keeping him over the two drivers. The decision caught many by surprise, as Perez had been struggling in the last eight races, while Ricciardo had been growing into the season with consistent performances.

During his interview with Sky Sports, Natalie Pinkham asked the Red Bull team principal about retaining Sergio Perez, but Horner turned the tables and asked her:

“Well, who would you put in?”

The Sky Sports pundit replied:

“Well I’m not the boss of Red Bull.”

The Red Bull team boss said:

“No, no but who would you change him for? Why would you change?”

Pinkham, feeling on the spot, responded:

“Why have you turned it back on me? It’s not my decision. I’m interested to know. Is that because there isn’t an obvious candidate to step up? Is that why you’ve held onto him?”

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Red Bull team boss explains decision to stick with Sergio Perez

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said that he believes Sergio Perez can regain his early 2024 form with tracks like Baku and Singapore coming up in the second half of the season, where he has won.

Cutting the ice in the tense interaction with Pinkham, Horner gave a more detailed reason about retaining Sergio Perez:

“We know what Checo is capable of. We know that at the beginning of the year, he had four podiums in five races. He’s had a lack of confidence and has ended up in a bit of a spiral. He’s had a reset, hopefully, over the summer break. There are tracks that he’s won at coming up.

"We’ve got Azerbaijan coming up where he’s won both the sprint race and grand prix on the same weekend. He won another fantastic race at Singapore, against Charles Leclerc in mixed conditions. He has been very quick at Monza. Zandvoort hasn't been his best circuit, so of the four races coming up before the next mini-break, I would say this is his most challenging one.”

Sergio Perez is P7 in the driver's championship, with 131 points after 14 races and three Sprints. He could still lose his seat if his performances and results fail to improve in the remainder of the season.