Red Bull boss Christian Horner is convinced Sergio Perez should shoot “a little confidence” of the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix, despite his eighth place finish.
Perez entered the Barcelona weekend needing to bounce back from a difficult series that saw him earn just four points in the last three rounds.
But if he managed to qualify for Q3, the Mexican regretted the balance of his RB20 and qualified eighth, six tenths behind Max Verstappen, second.
A three-place grid penalty following the previous race in Canada demoted Perez to 11th, but he bounced back thanks to a three-stop strategy to eighth as Verstappen took another victory.
Rivals Red Bull closed in and Lando Norris proclaimed McLaren should have won, but Verstappen allowed the champions to extend their lead.
When asked if he was worried about Perez not being a player in the lead battle, Horner dodged and replied: “If I’m not mistaken, I think we increased our lead on Sunday?”
Horner believes Perez’s comeback on an alternative race plan was a good result in the circumstances and supported it for Austria.
“Checo has had some tough races, if that’s what you want me to say. I’m not blind.”
“And things didn’t go the way he wanted. But he’s a driver who needs self-confidence and I hope he gets some from his race. He’s back in the points, had a decent race, I hope he takes some confidence from it for the races to come.”
Horner justifies himself with these somewhat surprising bon mots: Red Bull’s simulations before the Grand Prix indicated that eighth place would be the “optimal” result starting from 11th place, and that is what Perez obtained.
“Before the race, our simulation indicated that 8th place was the optimal result starting from 11th on the grid. He achieved this thanks to a three-stop strategy. I hope he uses this good point for the next two weekends, which are important weekends for him.”
Horner still conceded that Red Bull needs Perez closer to Verstappen to ensure the team is not compromised in strategic battles with its rivals at the top.
“We need Checo in the mix. He knows it. And the team knows it. And if he is at the back of the top 8, you lose strategic options. Checo has been fantastic in the first four or five races this year, we just need to get him back into that mindset.”
