Red Bull considered leaving Perez out: "To keep Lewis behind"
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Sergio Perez impressed with his defense of Lewis Hamilton in the Turkish Grand Prix. Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner was proud of his driver, who according to him 'defended like Max Verstappen would have done'.
The duel reached a climax when Hamilton tried to overtake the Mexican and the two drove neck and neck for corners. Pérez fended off the Mercedes' attacks and held his position, despite the fact that Hamilton was already ahead a couple of times. The Brit was unable to attack again after this.
Horner impressed with Perez
"Checo did a great job. He raced as hard against Lewis as Max would," Horner told Sky Sports after the race. "His defense against Lewis was exactly what we expected and he deserved to be on the podium. He had good control of the tires as well. I'm very happy with what he showed," he added later in the press conference.
A few laps after the duel with Hamilton, Pérez was brought in by Red Bull, eventually making it to the podium. "For us, the crucial moment was when we brought Checo in," the Brit said. "We could have left him out to keep Lewis behind, but we decided to give him a pit stop to secure his position. We didn't think those tires would make it to the end of the race," Horner said.