Horner responds to Perez speculation: 'He's old and wise enough to know'

Horner still 'Supporting Perez until the chequered flag':

"Checo has had a very tough year," Horner explained to GPblog and others. "The points tables are what they are. We're very much focused on really supporting him to the checkered flag in Abu Dhabi. It's not an enjoyable situation for Checo to be in this position with speculation every week. He's old enough and wise enough to know what the situation is. Let's see where we are after Abu Dhabi," Horner stated.

Why did Perez retire from the Qatar Grand Prix?

"We're just investigating the exact failure, but it looks like he spun the car, and as he's dropped the clutch, the clutch has had too much temperature go through it. It's one of those things, but more to come after we strip the car," he continued. Perez's race-ending incident was rather strange, as he spun, started to drive again, and then pulled off to the side of the circuit.  

Horner was also asked about Perez's incident during the sprint race. The Mexican and Franco Colapinto started in the pit lane after adjusting the set-up under parc fermé conditions. The light at the end of the pit lane was green, and so the drivers were allowed to start. Perez was at the front and waited a moment, causing Colapinto to overtake him.

"We sent him to the end of the pit lane seven minutes ahead of Colopinto for a reason. Checo has contributed a huge amount to this team in the four years that he's been here. The World Championship that Max achieved in ‘21, the Constructors' World Championships in ‘22 and ‘23. Obviously, this year has been particularly hard. He's won five Grands Prix for us. He's had some outstanding performances in races like Singapore, Azerbaijan, and Saudi Arabia, to name a few. Everybody holds Checo in the highest regard and respect, but the situation that we're in is as painful for him as it is for the team," Horner explained, defending his driver.

Will Abu Dhabi be Perez's last race in a Red Bull?

We've got one more race this year, so we'll throw everything at it. Hopefully, he can have a strong race to end the season in Abu Dhabi," What about after the race in the United Arab Emirates? "There's no more races then." Horner said bluntly.

This article was written in collaboration with Toby Nixon