"Red Bull, it's his life" - Sergio Perez on Christian Horner's dedication to Red Bull F1 team

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez praised Christian Horner's dedication to the Red Bull F1 team, saying the Briton gives "everything" to the team from Milton-Keynes. Perez, along with Max Verstappen, nearly stole the constructors' title from Mercedes but failed in the last two races.

Christian Horner may have guided the Red Bull team throughout the season to win its first drivers' championship since 2013. He occupied headlines, however, for peppering the season with a series of fiery comments made against rival team Mercedes and its team principal Toto Wolff. Sergio Perez commented on the epic battle of words between the two principals, emphasizing the passion Horner brings to the team. He said of the Briton and the ongoing feud:

“They are our main competitors. I don’t know for Toto, I don’t know how he’s at work and so on. But just speaking for Christian, Red Bull Racing, it’s his life. It’s everything. He gives everything for it. He gets very passionate and I think it’s great to see. The sport is great to see drivers with character. It’s great to see team bosses with character. It’s part of the sport at the end of the day.”

Christian Horner and Red Bull took Perez into the team after the Mexican had an astonishing last-to-first finish at the Sakhir Grand Prix at the end of the year. The veteran driver had been let go from his then team, Racing Point, and had an uncertain future in the sport when he got the call from Horner. Horner said about the Mexican at the end of 2021:

“Checo has played a key, key role for us this year, particularly in the second half of the year. He’s been a phenomenal servant to his team-mate, whether it was a tow at Monza, fighting with Lewis in turkey, what he did on Saturday qualifying towing his team-mate around to pole. Then most dramatically defending like a lion against Lewis, that cost him vital time, without which Mercedes would have had a free pit stop and probably would have won this world championship.”

Sergio Perez acted as the ultimate wingman, holding off Lewis Hamilton at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Perez's racecraft cost Hamilton valuable seconds, putting Verstappen back into the fight.

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Red Bull lose constructors' title to Mercedes despite winning drivers' title

A late safety car coupled with fresher tires helped Max Verstappen secure his maiden drivers' title in the sport. In the process, he dethroned Lewis Hamilton for the first time since 2017. Despite winning the drivers' championship, Red Bull lost out to Mercedes in the constructors' table. This gave the German manufacturer their eighth consecutive title win.

Whilst most of the media attention is on Max Verstappen and Red Bull for winning the drivers' trophy, the bulk of the money teams need for R&D comes from winning the constructors' trophy. Christian Horner was quick to remind Toto Wolff of this fact when the Austrian executive sent the Briton a congratulatory message after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. He replied:

“I congratulated him on winning the Constructors’ World Championship and reminded him that's where the money is paid.”

The two team principals will be back with their respective drivers next year. They will battle it out all over again in hopes of winning yet more championships.