Horner's Awkward Exchange With Sky Sports Reporter After Question About Sergio Perez

Saturday, 24 August 2024 at 10:32

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner snapped at F1 reporter Natalie Pinkham after she asked why the Milton Keynes team retained Sergio Perez.

Red Bull used to be famous for being ruthless with its drivers. If they didn't perform according to expectations, the Austrian team wouldn't hesitate to replace them even in the middle of the season.

Drivers like Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, Nyck de Vries, and others went through this situation. However, Red Bull has changed recently. They keep holding on to Sergio Perez despite the fact that he hasn't met their criteria in the last eight Grand Prix races.

The team from Milton Keynes seemed to have decided they were about to make a change before the summer break, but then, just a day after the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix, they announced they would keep the Mexican driver.

Various rumors emerged, suggesting even that Liberty Media (owner of F1) might have persuaded them to keep the 34-year-old as it was in their interest to have him in a car for the 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix.

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Many pundits stated they could not understand Red Bull's decision. Consequently, Natalie Pinkham sought some clarification from Christian Horner, asking him why Sergio Perez had been given more time, given the importance of both cars finishing in points.

However, Red Bull Racing's team principal didn't like this question at all. He snapped, "Well, who would you put in?" Pinkham responded, "I'm not the boss of Red Bull."

"Who would you change it for? Why would you change it?" said Horner.

"Why have you turned it around on me?" Pinkham asked. Horner then smiled back and responded, "You ask all the questions!"

"We know what Checo [Perez] is capable of. We know that, at the beginning of the year, he was scoring, and he earned four podiums in five races."

Perez scored three P2 finishes and one P3 finish in the first five races. However, the problem was that in the remaining nine Grand Prix races, he did not stand on the podium anymore. The team principal continued:

"I think he's just had a lack of confidence and has ended up in a bit of a spiral. I think he's had a bit of a reset, hopefully, over the summer break."

"We know that there are tracks that he's won at coming up – we've got Azerbaijan, where he's won both the sprint race and grand prix on the same weekend."

"He's won a fantastic race in Singapore against Charles Leclerc in mixed conditions. He's been very quick at Monza. Zandvoort hasn’t been his best circuit. So, of the four races coming up before the next mini-break, I would say this is his most challenging one."