Horner saw another difficult day for Perez: 'We are going to talk to Checo'

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christian horner on sergio perez after the qatar grand prix
8 October 2023 at 20:51
Last update 8 October 2023 at 21:48
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  • Olly Darcy
  • Editor

It is a repetitive story: while one side of the Red Bull Racing garage celebrates, the other group struggles. Max Verstappen also won in Qatar, but teammate Sergio Perez just managed to finish in the points. Two track limit penalties prevented the Mexican from getting beyond 10th place at the race's end.

"Well, I think we need to talk to Checo after the race here to understand what caused him to have the track limits," Horner told F1 TV. "It was a tough race for him, a very tough weekend, and we will continue to help him fully. Our support he has, and we are trying to get him back [on level]. Fortunately, Lewis did not score today, and Fernando did not score significantly, so he is still second in that drivers' championship, but he urgently needs to regain his form."

Separate strategy due to Pirelli

With the mandatory pit stops, it was quite a task for the teams to find the right strategy. "Strategically, there was a maximum stint length for each team, so we knew when everyone would eventually stop. The reason we delayed the last stop [with Max] was because we wanted to cover a late safety car and to see what the rest were doing. In terms of strategy, it was mainly coming to the end of the race. Max delivered an incredible performance, his fourteenth win of the year."

Since this weekend, Red Bull have been assured of both championships. But for the remaining races, that doesn't change anything, Horner says. "No, absolutely. There are still five races to go, two sprint races. So we want to continue until the end of this championship. There is still a lot to race for, and the way the team is performing, it has again been incredible this year."