Pérez has to finish second or else he’s out? It was never discussed, says Horner, explaining the situation at Red Bull

What’s the current situation with Red Bull’s second racing seat? There has been much speculation across the Formula One world. However, Austrian stable boss Christian Horner denies some of the facts and sets the record straight as it currently stands.

There is a significant difference between the two Red Bull drivers, both in terms of results and performance. In short, Max Verstappen is on a different level to everyone else, leaving Sergio Pérez hidden in his shadow of glory.

The Mexican’s unnecessary crashes in previous Grands Prix, as well as his triumphant performance in qualifying, have also not helped.

It is no wonder that not only among fans, but also experts and the world’s media have begun to speculate that Pérez has an imaginary knife to his throat.

This speculation eventually became more concrete, with the belief that if the man nicknamed ‘Checo’ doesn’t finish second in the drivers’ championship at the end of the season, there will be no place for him at Red Bull next year.

Christian Horner, as Red Bull boss, also backed up this idea with his comments after the Qatar Grand Prix, saying Pérez must improve his performance on track. Otherwise, there would be a serious conversation.

Horner on Pérez…

Now, after the US Grand Prix, however, Horner has commented on the whole matter that there is no such “verbal clause”.

“There is no such thing. We’ve never finished first or second in the championship. We have finished first and third several times – it was the case with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, and it was the case last year when Checo finished third,” said Horner, who was quoted by Motorsport.

“So it would be fantastic if we could finish first and second with a car like that this year. But there is no such requirement for Checo. There was never any talk of him having to finish second or he will finish and not race for us next year,” he added.

Finally, Horner mentioned Pérez’s performances from the season opener, when he won the Saudi Arabian and Azerbaijan Grand Prix. He said Red Bull knows what the Mexican has and what he is capable of. Now, according to the Austrian team boss, it’s just a matter of getting ‘Checa’ back to his previous form.

Source: F1, Motorsport