“We’re constantly analyzing”: Red Bull boss talks about Sergio Perez’s F1 future after another poor result from the Mexican

Red Bull Racing CEO Christian Horner suggested that a meeting held after the Belgian GP was related to analyzing other issues apart from the future of Sergio Perez. Speaking to onsite media after the race, the Briton shared that there would be some hesitancy in taking a call on the Mexican driver’s future.

After the Belgian GP, it was speculated that there would be a meeting in the UK to discuss the future of Perez and their driver lineup. The speculation was fuelled by Helmut Marko who was disappointed with the Red Bull driver’s performance and spoke to Sky Sports after the race. Following the meeting, a Red Bull spokesperson confirmed to media including Sportskeeda that the 34-year-old would continue for the rest of the season. As per sources at Red Bull, the team had chosen against a mid-season swap.

Horner spoke to onsite media in Belgium, playing down the possibilities of replacing Sergio Perez mid-season. The Red Bull Racing CEO reckoned that there was a hesitation in making such a brutal call. He suggested that it was important to regroup as team and analyze the pitfalls from the race weekend, to come back stronger after the summer-break.

Asked if there was going to be a discussion on the Red Bull driver’s future in the meeting, Horner said:

“We are always analysing and constantly thinking... the meeting is not just about Checo, there are other topics on the agenda as well, which we always do going into the summer break. So you know for us extending the lead going into the summer break for Max will give him a better rest... Think for us the focus is on the constructors that we've seen another seven or eight points taken off us again today. You know, we need to start, you know, we need to turn that around coming out of, coming out of the break in Zandvoort.”

Asked about a potential mid-season swap between drivers, Horner said:

“Nobody wants to make that decision. You know, I mean, obviously, you guys talk about it every day. But, yeah, in the team, we want to get him going. We want to get him, you know, I understand, give him a kind. You see glimpses. Race pace last weekend was strong. He had the fourth-best race pace in Budapest, but he had a difficult Saturday with a crash in quali. He did a good job yesterday. I I mean, to put it, be five-hundredths of Charles on a scrubbed set of tires and put it on the front row, you know, was a tremendous effort. Today just, you know, his race faded.”

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Red Bull are focused on helping Sergio Perez back to the front in the 2024 season

Red Bull Racing CEO Christian Horner felt that Sergio Perez has had a tough run in the last few races and the team would analyze why he tailed off in the Belgian GP. Despite a front-row start, the Mexican driver ended up finishing eighth in the race and was promoted to seventh after George Russell’s disqualification. The Briton avoided answering questions on the time frame Perez had to turn around his performance. However, he admitted that eighth place wasn’t what they had anticipated as they expected a podium and fight place from their drivers.

Asked how long Perez would be given to turn around the performance, the Red Bull Racing CEO said:

“I think that that’s, he's as acutely aware of anybody that you know we need both cars performing and which is what we had at the beginning of the year and that's where we need to get back to them.”

Asked if any one race was going to be a decisive factor in deciding the future of the Red Bull driver, Horner said:

“You know Checo has a tough run over the last few races and what's so confusing for us is that the season started with so well with him and then as you know tailed off. He did a great job a super job in qualifying yesterday obviously we need to go through and understand you know the issues in the in the race. So we've got the time to do that and analyze that and you know and work with him."

Asked if he expected more from Perez in the Belgian GP, Horner replied:

“Starting on the front row, our objective really was pre -race, we felt that third and fifth would be achievable. We achieved the fifth but we didn't achieve the third. So we obviously need to go through the day to understand, you know, where his loss of pace was.”

Asked if it was fair to say he was disappointed with the race performance, the Red Bull Racing CEO said:

“Based on his starting position, we've, you know, we didn't envisage finishing 8th from the second on the grid.”

Red Bull Racing is currently leading the championship with 408 points. However, McLaren are only 46 points behind them. With the constructors championship being contested so closely, it is evident that Perez will need to be in the top 5 to help Red Bull defend their title. The six-time Grand Prix winner has currently scored 131 points but is 146 points away from Max Verstappen.