Red Bull focussed on getting Sergio Perez back into the mind frame how he performed earlier in the season

Red Bull F1 team principal Christian Horner feels that if the gap between Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez remains the same in 2024, it will be dealt with when the time comes.

Speaking to the media, including Sportskeeda in Austin, the Briton defended the Mexican driver’s ability to hone his competitive form.

After much speculation about the certainty of Perez’s future, one of the main factors fueling the speculation was the gap between the Red Bull drivers in both qualifying and race trims.

With second place in the championship still up for grabs, the Mexican driver is facing stiff competition from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.

Asked by Sportskeeda how Red Bull plans to deal with the situation if the gap remains the same in 2024, Horner said:

“We'll deal with that when we face it . I mean, what we want is that we know that Checo, if you see Checo’s performances in the first part of the year, Bahrain very very tight with Max. The race in Saudi there was a great race between the two of them pushing each other really hard, very fine margins."

He added:

"Where after we got, his race in Azerbaijan, winning the sprint and and the Grand Prix there. You know, those are the kinds of performances that we know he's capable of. And I think it's just getting him back into that mind frame and to get the most out of him to get him back to those those level of performances even.”

Explaining the challenges of being the Red Bull triple champion’s teammate, the Briton said:

“I think Max Verstappen’s teammate is probably the hardest job in the pit lane. Because he's operating at such a high level, and it's relentless. And so the mental aptitude that you need to be able to deal with that when every time you see a piece of data, ‘it's like, wow, you know, how did he do that?’"

He added:

"Now, it takes a certain strength of character to be able to, to deal with that. And I think that you know, the form that he's in and been in for the last three, four years, you know, he's just operating at such a high level, it's, it will be tough for any driver on the grid.”

Outlining Perez’s performances and results in the first few races of the season, Horner explained to Sportskeeda that Red Bull were confident of his potential.

Assuming the field bunches up in 2024, if the gap remains the same, the Milton Keynes squad could be in a difficult situation, with Verstappen having to defend all of his rivals on his own.

However, when asked what the strategy was to counter a scenario like that, Horner felt that they would deal with it when the situation arose.

Explaining the difficulty of being Verstappen’s teammate, Horner suggested that performance data itself can baffle his teammates.

Praising the Dutchman’s relentlessness, the Red Bull team principal felt it took a different strength of character to be able to compete with the reigning champion for any of the drivers on the grid.

The Mexican driver was made to carry out three days of relentless simulator work prior to the Austin and Mexico double header to ensure better results.

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Christian Horner claims second place in championship is not a mandate for Sergio Perez to retain Red Bull seat

There has been much speculation around Sergio Perez’s future at Red Bull in 2024. Some of the speculation doing the rounds suggested that the Mexican had to finish second in the championship to retain his drive, or he would be replaced by Daniel Ricciardo.

Asked if there was a performance clause to the 33-year-old retaining his drive for 2024, Horner was quick to dismiss it.

He explained that a 1-2 in the driver’s championship is a goal the Milton Keynes squad would like to achieve, as they haven’t had it in the past, even with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.

Asked if losing second place in the championship could affect Perez’s future at Red Bull, Horner said:

“No, there's no pre mandate like that. And so I mean, finishing we've never finished first and second in a championship and we finished first and third a few times with Mark and Sebastian. We did finish the last year with Max and Checo."

He continued:

"So you know with this car it would be fantastic for in such a season that we've had to finish if we could finish first or second but there's no pre mandate on trigger that you have to finish second or you won't be driving the car next year. That's that's never been never been discussed.”

Currently, the driver’s standings have both Red Bull drivers with a 226-point gap between them, with Verstappen having clinched his third championship in Qatar.

In the constructor’s championship, Red Bull wrapped up their championship in Singapore and had a total tally of 706 points.

Perez is second in the championship with a total of 240 points but remains only 39 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton, with four races left on the calendar.