Horner defends Perez: 'No driver would have beaten Verstappen in that car'

Speaking to GPblog during a press briefing in Barcelona, Horner expressed hope that the growing gap with Max Verstappen will take some of the pressure off Perez. The Red Bull Racing team boss believes the Mexican no longer needs to go all out in the hope of keeping his title chances alive.

Horner: 'Perez has nothing to lose now'

"He has nothing to lose now, and I think he just needs to relax," Horner added to Sky Sports. "He can breathe out, and just drive like we know he’s capable of, like he did in Azerbaijan and some of the early races this year."

At the Spanish Grand Prix, Perez managed to get back to P4 from 11th on the grid, but a podium was just not in the cards for the 33-year-old Mexican. Horner stressed that being the teammate of Verstappen, who dominated the race from start to finish, cannot be easy mentally.

"Being Max Verstappen’s team mate… Take nothing away, there’s not a driver out there today, I believe, that would have beaten Max in that car [on Sunday]," the 49-year-old Briton continued. "He’s up against a driver that is at the top of his form, and that’s very tough. Checo, mentally, it’s a really tough thing to deal with. But as I say, I think now, there is that separation in the points, that may actually take the pressure off him a little, and the expectation he’s putting on himself, he needs to let go of that now and just be free to drive."