Red Bull team principal and CEO Christian Horner has urged Sergio Perez to improve his performance and form after a “horrible” weekend at the 2024 Canadian GP saw the Mexican fail to progress from Q1 on Saturday and crash out from Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Perez had a few incidents along the race, including contact with Pierre Gasly’s Alpine on the opening lap, which caused him some damage. But the Mexican had an off in turn six in the final stages of the race, dipping a wheel in the wet patch of the circuit and spinning rear-first into the tyre barriers, ultimately ending his race that wasn’t on course to yield any points anyway.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the race, Horner emphasized how Perez will need to immediately step up his game at Spain in order to maintain Red Bull’s lead in the constructors’ championship – and explained how a “shocker” from nearest title rivals Ferrari prevented the weekend from being disastrous for the team as it effectively only had one car in the fight:
“That was a horrible weekend for Checo, and obviously we picked up some damage [on the opening lap].
“So, you know, he’ll need to come back strong in Barcelona. Thankfully Ferrari, you know had a shocker today so didn’t get any points – that let us off the hook somewhat.
“But we need both cars scoring, so we got away with it today, but we need Checo back up there where he was at the beginning of the year – from Barcelona onwards.”
“I mean the margins are fine, but he knows what’s at stake and we need him performing at the top of his game,” he said. “Because [in] the constructors’ [championship] we got three teams that are nipping at our heels and you’ve got to be firing on all cylinders.”
But whilst it faces a critical situation on one side of the garage, Red Bull can be relieved that Max Verstappen delivered once again in Montreal, for his third straight victory at the Canadian track and his sixth of the 2024 season, stretching his lead in the drivers’ championship and giving the team some breathing space in the constructors’.
“It was a cracking race, and I think Max [Verstappen] was really on the top of his game,” said Horner. “These conditions are a nightmare for everybody, and I think Max [worked well] together with the pit wall and his engineers. We got the the calls right, we made the right adjustments at the right time and to win that race was a tricky one.”
Verstappen never looked like having the fastest car in Montreal in any of the practice or qualifying sessions, but the Dutchman maximised the potential of his car despite reporting some issues with the ride of his RB20 around some of the bumpy sections of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve – something that held the team back massively in Monaco – but Horner believes it proves the team bounced back even in a circuit that doesn’t suit the car:
“Just as the circuit is drying out, they’re obviously traveling a bit quicker and you know, obviously we’re running the car pretty stiff and [Max] is feeling that.
“But at the same time he was pulling away from the cars behind.
“[So] it was a great comeback after Monaco, you know, here there’s curbs and bumps and to come back and win this race in these conditions, it was a big result today for sure.”
After the Canadian GP, Red Bull leads the constructors’ championship by 49 points with 15 rounds of the 2024 season remaining.
