Red Bull boss Christian Horner admitted there was a need “look at the facts” regarding Sergio Perez’s place within the team amid another poor Formula 1 weekend in Brazil.
Perez traveled to the Sao Paulo Grand Prix hoping for a positive result after finishing his home event in Mexico the previous weekend in last place.
But if he made a good comeback in the Sprint to obtain the last point, Perez had a lackluster race in the main race, finding himself in 11th place while Max Verstappen gave a masterclass for victory.
The Mexican himself hampered his own prospects from the start when a spin exiting Turn 10 on the first lap sent his Red Bull tumbling to the back of the field.
“It was a difficult race for Checo, a spin at the start of the race dropped him to the bottom of the table. This weekend was an opportunity for the constructors’ championship to take back a large number of points from Ferrari and McLaren .”
“Unfortunately we weren’t able to take advantage of it, so it’s obviously frustrating. But we’re going to take a look at it and come back hoping to fight in Vegas.”
Asked why Perez is not able to make a comeback like Verstappen, Horner replied: “I didn’t attend the debriefing, I didn’t hear his comments. But I didn’t see anything obvious in the race.”
Perez has contributed just 20 points in the seven events held since the summer break, fewer than Verstappen’s total in Brazil.
With Red Bull third in the standings behind McLaren and Ferrari, Horner said last weekend that “difficult decisions” had to be made on Perez’s position.
Asked if the time for a driver change was getting closer, Horner replied: “I think everything in life is subjective and you have to look at the facts.”
“We are working hard with Checo, he changed his chassis this weekend. I thought he had a good sprint race, but in the race it was not his day.”
“The facts? Sergio Perez is our current driver. Liam Lawson did a great job again and Yuki [Tsunoda] Also. But Liam, in particular, given his experience.”
