Red Bull F1 team principal Christian Horner said Sergio Perez has increased his confidence by being able to set up for his driving style.
Sergio Perez, who has been a Red Bull Honda driver since this season, has struggled to keep pace with Max Verstappen for most of the season and has only surpassed the qualifying once.
Sergio Perez won his first victory over Red Bull at the F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix in June, but the six races from the F1 British Grand Prix to the F1 Russian Grand Prix were tough, scoring only 16 points.
However, there was also the unlucky situation of being the victim of multiple crashes in the first corner at the F1 Hungarian GP, and the pit lane start by exchanging the power unit at the F1 Dutch GP.
And Sergio Perez has been doing well in recent races, winning the podium in 3rd place for two consecutive races in the F1 Turkish GP and the F1 US GP.
In the F1 US Grand Prix, he finished third, just 0.2 seconds behind Max Verstappen, who won pole position, and showed the strongest performance in the qualifying, which was an issue for this season.
Christian Horner welcomes Max Verstappen’s challenge to the Drivers’Championship and the arrival of Sergio Perez’s breakthrough at an important time to support the Constructors’ Championship as Red Bull Honda.
“I think it’s confident,” Christian Horner said after the F1 US Grand Prix.
“I’ve been out in the last few races. Monza was strong and Sochi was strong. I should have been on the podium in both races.”
“I was strong in Istanbul and I’ve been at a pace this weekend. I’m just confident. I need to get him to do this this time of the year. It was a great result for him today.”
“I think I was able to find a setup that suits him, and I was able to optimize the car a bit more for his style.”
“There are some important races going forward and we need his run on Sunday.”
“It was unfortunate that he couldn’t get the pole. It was a big step forward for him.”
Sergio Perez hasn’t finished in 7th place or higher since the F1 Mexican Grand Prix returned to the calendar in 2015, but is optimistic about the outlook for the home race.
“I think we have a good package. We should be strong there,” Sergio Perez said.
“Usually Red Bull is so strong in Mexico that I’m really looking forward to it. I’m really looking forward to getting us back on the podium.”
Category: F1 / Red bull / Honda F1 / Sergio Perez
