Horner warns Perez: 'Comes a point when difficult decisions must be made'
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Christian Horner has acknowledged that "difficult decisions have to be made" regarding Sergio Perez's future at the Red Bull team. The Mexican had a disastrous weekend in front of his home fans. He failed to escape Q1 on Saturday, and finished the Grand Prix in last position. He also failed to clinch the fastest lap bonus point from Ferrari, though he was carrying significant damage by that point.
It was clearly another setback for Perez. Meanwhile, Red Bull slipped down to third in the Constructors' Championship. "As I say, Formula 1 is a results-based business. When anyone is underperforming there is always going to become scrutiny on that. As a team, we need to have both cars scoring points. That's the nature of Formula 1," Horner said.
"From a team's perspective, we're working with him [Perez] as hard as we can to try and support him. I think we've done everything that we can to support Checo and we'll continue to do so in Brazil next weekend. There comes a point in time that you can only do so much [as a team]."
Horner applies further pressure
Perez is contracted to drive for Red Bull during the 2025 Formula 1 season, but there has been doubt about his position for several weeks. However, Horner does not seem to rule out an earlier decision being made. Asked directly about that, the answer was: "As I just said, that scrutiny is always going to be there. There comes a point in time that difficult decisions have to be made. We're now third in the Constructors' Championship. Our determination is to try and get back into a winning position, but it's going to be a tall order over these next four races."
However, Perez does have a glimmer of hope. Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, racing as teammates at Visa Cash App RB, are two possible candidates for the seat alongside Verstappen. But Horner highlighted how they didn't get a desired result in Mexico either. "The VCARB guys didn't have a great day either. It's amazing how quickly the world can change in seven days," Horner said.
This article has been created in collaboration with Ludo van Denderen