Perez 'Urgently Needs To Get Back Into Shape' According To Horner

Monday, 09 October 2023 at 15:00

Updated at Tuesday, 10 October 2023 at 22:42

Another unsuccessful Grand Prix for Red Bull Racing F1 Driver Sergio Perez got a reaction from his Team Principal, Christian Horner.

The 2023 Qatar Grand Prix weekend saw a race win and the crowning of now thee-time World Champion Max Verstappen. On the other side of the garage, Sergio Perez achieved a single point throughout the whole sprint weekend.

The Mexican still seems to be searching for his pace as he was already in problem from Qualifying. Perez did not manage to get into Q3, and then, in the Sprint Shootout, Perez was only fast enough for the eighth starting position for the sprint race.

Mexican minister of defense was later taken out of the sprint race by Esteban Ocon after a racing incident, scoring zero points. The race did not turn out better for Perez as he violated track limits too many times, received multiple time penalties, and finished in P10, scoring his only point.

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The 2023 Qatar Grand Prix weekend highlighted the gap between Max Verstappen and Perez as the Flying Dutchman qualified first for the race, second for the sprint, finished the sprint in second and won the race. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said:

“"I think we need to talk to him (Perez) to understand what happened. He had a tough race and a very tough weekend, and we will continue to give him our full support. He’s still second in the drivers’ standings, but he urgently needs to get back into shape."”

The situation is more and more alarming. This weekend extended the gap between Verstappen and Perez by an additional 32 points to an overall whopping 210 points.

Perez still has a mission to finish second in the Driver’s Championship, where he is currently standing 30 points ahead of Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton with five races to go.