F1 News
Remarkable choice of words Horner: Has Perez's situation changed?
- Ludo van Denderen
It was precisely in his home race in Mexico that Sergio Perez suffered yet another setback: the Red Bull Racing driver, encouraged by tens of thousands of fans, made a mistake at the first corner and went over Charles Leclerc's wheel into the gravel pit. Not much later, in the pit box came the bad news: 'Checo, your race is over.' Not the victory the Mexican had so much hoped for, but another blot on his already tarnished record.
With his crash - and resulting in a scoreless weekend - there are once again rumours that Red Bull is thanking Perez for services rendered at the end of the season. Daniel Ricciardo, who actually excelled in Mexico, is said to be the most serious candidate to take a seat next year alongside Max Verstappen in the RB20, obviously if Red Bull decides to part with the (currently) number two in the drivers' championship.
Has Horner changed his words?
As often as stories have surfaced that Perez is under pressure, Helmut Marko and Christian Horner have let the press note that the Mexican has a contract for 2024. And yes, Red Bull has every confidence in the driver who was on the verge of F1 retirement a few years ago. But those who listened carefully to what Horner said in Mexico City seem to hear that the team is no longer so adamant about Perez's future.
Indeed, Horner said this: "Checo has an agreement with us for next year and that’s our intention, for him to be in the car in 2024. We’ll give him all the support we can to ensure that he finishes second [in the drivers’ standings] but there’s no prerequisite that if he doesn’t finish second, you’re out.”
Knowing that Horner is seasoned in his dealings with the media, and always knows exactly what to say and what not to say, one word stands out here: 'intention'. So there is an intention that Perez will continue to race for the constructors' world champion in 2024. In the meaning of 'intention' there is always an element of uncertainty: 'we are not sure, we have the intention'. So, for the right understanding, there could be a situation where we still abandon our intention, that intention, to continue with Perez."
Perez barely impressed in Brazil and Abu Dhabi
Either way, Perez needs to produce some good results in the season's three concluding Grands Prix. The omens are not so favourable. In total, the Mexican drove a Grand Prix 23 times at the Sao Paulo and Abu Dhabi circuits. Of those, he finished only one on the podium; the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.