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Horner supporting Perez at Red Bull: Will that save his seat?
- Ludo van Denderen
The Monaco Grand Prix was over for Sergio Perez after only a few hundred metres. It was a pointless weekend, but they would have been tough for the Mexican to grab considering he started from 18th. Like Imola, Perez had a weekend to forget amid contract negotiations. He can count on Christian Horner, who continues to support Perez despite his poor results.
Even after a miserable weekend in Monaco, Horner was extremely lenient about Perez's performance. "Checo's first six races he was very strong. He was qualifying on the front row and finishing second and third and scoring very well. We just need to get him back into that position of confidence and not see a dip," the Red Bull Racing team boss said.
Perez remains the prime candidate at Red Bull
Perez could claim as an excuse that he was involved in a major accident early on in Monaco, bringing his race to a quick halt. On the other hand, a Red Bull driver should never be in the situation of starting a Grand Prix in the rear. Yet even after that terribly poor qualifying, Horner remains confident in Perez and - as it became cautiously clear last weekend - he still sees the Mexican as the main candidate to take his seat alongside Verstappen in '25.
Helmut Marko revealed to German media in Monaco that a decision on the seat next to Verstappen may be made before the Spanish Grand Prix. The Austrian is known to be tough on a driver who does not perform to Red Bull standards. Yet, Perez is still in the seat. Is it perhaps by default? Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson, two of Red Bull's own talents, are not given the chance, but would they be worse than Perez?
Horner, on the contrary, is a fan of Perez. The team boss was asked if Perez's current form influenced the timing of the decision. "Not really. I think that it's more our timing. [We] will make a decision in the fullness of time.” That's to Perez's advantage, as it means he gets time to show he can improve.
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