Horner Would Not Want Two 'Alphas' In Red Bull Seat In Regards To Alonso/Hamilton Speculations

Sunday, 08 October 2023 at 14:30

Updated at Tuesday, 10 October 2023 at 22:39

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner explained his strategy for the team's driver line-up.

Max Verstappen has been a clear number-one driver for Red Bull Racing ever since the 2023 Miami Grand Prix. Since then, Verstappen has won ten consecutive races, breaking Sebastian Vettel's record, and secured the title during the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race.

His teammate Sergio Perez aspired to compete for the title after the first four races of the season when the Drivers' Championship was almost tied. However, Verstappen created almost 200-point lead over the Mexican driver during the course of the next twelve races, showcasing his dominance.

While the Flying Dutchman has been consistent race after race, Perez struggled and failed multiple qualifications and races throughout the season.

His race performances overall have not been up to very high standards set by Verstappen, so F1 fans and experts started speculating if Mexican deserves the Red Bull seat.

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Sky Sport's Martin Brundle asked the Red Bull Racing team principal Chrisitan Horner if the team would ever consider likes of world champions like Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso in the seat alongside Max Verstappen, to which he responded:

"If you put two extreme alphas in a team it’ll tear the team apart. So you always want to achieve, I think the right balance. That’s one of the biggest lessons that I’ve learned."

By balance, Horner might be trying to say a clearly identified number-one and number-two driver. The driver duo of Verstappen and Perez has worked for Red Bull as the team won three consecutive Drivers' World Championships and two consecutive Constructors' World Championships.

Horner added that Perez will have all the team's support to finish second in the championship saying: "He can do it, he can finish second in the championship. He’ll have all the support from us in order to do that."