Christian Horner is aware of the difficulty of racing alongside Max Verstappen
Having Max Verstappen as a teammate is complicated. The Dutchman outshines all his teammates and Sergio Perez is no exception.
Red Bull comfortably dominates the constructors’ world championship thanks to Max Verstappen. The two-time world champion clearly outperforms his teammate Sergio Perez and the rest of the paddock.
The Dutch driver has been dominating the Mexican driver since 2021. Max Verstappen has won 35 races compared to only 5 for Sergio Perez. In qualifying as well, over the course of two and a half seasons, the Red Bull team’s lead driver has consistently outperformed his teammate. Max Verstappen has finished ahead of Sergio Perez 49 times, while the opposite situation has occurred only 7 times.
A gap that is due to driving ability according to Christian Horner. « I think he just has this sense of grip limits and has such confidence in himself and his ability to quickly achieve his goals. You look at his laps the first time he arrives at a new track or his lap times, his first lap of the day is often two or three seconds faster than anyone else’s » explains the Red Bull team principal on the ESPN Unlapped podcast.
Sergio Perez is not the only one to be dominated by the 25-year-old driver. Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon also suffered when they were in the Red Bull seat. Before them, Daniel Ricciardo left Red Bull after spending a season with Verstappen.
Despite the Mexican driver’s difficulty this season where he has not made it into Q3 for 5 consecutive races, he has the support of his team manager.
« Being Max’s teammate will never be an easy thing. I think Checo has done very well over the past two and a half years. It requires great mental strength because not only does he have the data he has to face, but he also has you, the journalists, every weekend giving him a hard time by asking, “Why aren’t you at the level of your teammate?” » argues Christian Horner.
“The Mexican is currently second in the championship, a good result for his start of the season,” explains the British head of the Red Bull team.
« Nobody is at the level of their teammates. But he is still second in the championship, with a 40 point lead over the third place, he has achieved a double win in two Grand Prix and finished second in at least four others. He had a good season, but everything compared to Max is secondary » concluded the 49-year-old man.
