Horner not worried about Perez: 'He'll get there'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
At the first Grand Prix in Bahrain, Sergio Perez impressed with his fifth place finish, but at Imola he disappointed by finishing 11th. It's especially disappointing when you think that the Mexican had started from second position, but due to a mistake under the safety car and some other mishaps, he disappeared from sight. A pity, but Christian Horner isn't too worried.
Impressive Saturday
Everyone thought that the battle for pole position would be between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, but suddenly there was Sergio Perez who positioned his car in second place. An excellent result for a driver who is still in the phase of getting used to the car. That alone shows that both the car is good, and Perez is an excellent driver. Team boss Horner said in conversation with Motorsport.com: "On Saturday he just did a good job".
On Sunday, on the other hand, things didn't go so well. A mistake behind the safety car earned Perez a time penalty and at the restart Perez made another mistake behind the Ferrari. Not really useful if you want to hunt for a podium. So the final result was very disappointing, especially because the podium was definitely not out of reach. But Horner gives him time and says he has confidence in Perez.
"Of course it was a shame he wasn't up front on Sunday, but he'll get there in time. I'm sure he has better weekends ahead of him. It didn't go his way this time, but he's definitely going to see better Sundays this year."
In any case, it's not all down to his abilities, the car is also good and so it mainly comes down to avoiding making mistakes and keeping the focus sharp. This is important for the team as well, because Perez could be a major factor for Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen in particular, as they could make things even more difficult for Mercedes.