Sergio Perez won his first race of the season in the Monaco Grand Prix last weekend battling closely with Verstappen.
Follow Us
Christian Horner, the team’s chief, has rebuffed criticism from Max Verstappen’s father Jos and insisted that the reigning world champion will not be prioritized above teammate Sergio Perez. Perez won his first race of the season in the Monaco Grand Prix last weekend, capping off a season that has seen him battle more closely with Verstappen than he was able to during his debut year with the club. Following Perez’s victory in Monaco, Jos Verstappen informed Max’s official website that points were thrown away since the team imposed little impact in assisting his son as world champion.
However, talking between first and second practice at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Friday, Horner defended the team’s decision and argued that Perez, who just signed a two-year contract deal, is on a level basis with Verstappen. “Dads and fathers are never totally objective. What wasn’t apparent was all of the information that we have during a race.” opined the Red Bull team principal.
“If Max had pitted, then he would have come out behind I think George at the time. Jos is his own person and personality. He’s got opinions and that’s absolutely fine, that’s his opinion. The reality for us was obviously slightly different… it’s no issue.” expressed Horner
Checo’s triumph in Monaco brought him within 15 points of Verstappen in the world championship standings, and six points of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in second. The close margin between the Red Bull drivers has sparked much debate in the paddock ahead of this weekend’s Azerbaijan GP over whether Perez is a legitimate title challenger, with his excellent performance in Friday practice further adding fuel to the fire. If Perez out-qualifies his teammate, like he did in Monaco, Horner says that he will receive the first call on strategy during the race.
Read more: Max Verstappen should learn from Sergio Perez, says Ralf Schumacher
“The No 1 driver is the driver that’s ahead, it’s as simple as that. That’s why Checo got the call on the pit stop, Max wouldn’t even have had track position for example on that lap. But, our fight isn’t between the two drivers, we’ve got a very competitive Ferrari with two fast drivers in it. Collectively as a team, we’ve got to take the fight and take the challenge to Ferrari, who are looking very quick this year.” expressed Horner.
