Purple Bull group principal Christian Horner has refused to substantiate if Sergio Perez will retain his seat as Max Verstappen’s team-mate sooner or later.
‘Checo’ Perez had one other difficult weekend as he was knocked out in Q1 at his residence race in Mexico, then had a false begin within the race and made contact with RB’s Liam Lawson earlier than coming residence the final of the finishers in seventeenth.
The 34-year-old, who has a contract with Purple Bull for 2025, obtained the backing of Horner through the summer time break to stick with the group however that tone seems to have modified with 4 rounds to go this season.
“Checo, again, has had a horrible weekend. Nothing has gone right for him. He knows F1 is a results-based business,” mentioned Horner.
“Inevitably, when you’re not delivering, then the spotlight is firmly on you.”
Perez is eighth within the Drivers’ Championship and Purple Bull have dropped behind Ferrari to 3rd within the constructors’ standings, after Carlos Sainz gained the Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix, with Charles Leclerc in third.
Please use Chrome browser for a extra accessible video participant
Martin Brundle shares why he believes this might have been Perez’s final Mexico Metropolis GP as a Purple Bull driver
Horner admitted there will probably be a degree when a “difficult decision” needs to be made.
“It [the scrutiny] is constant. It’s always there. From a team’s perspective, we are working with him as hard as we can to try and support him,” he added.
Please use Chrome browser for a extra accessible video participant
Perez and Oscar Piastri made shock exits in Q1 on the Mexico GP
“I think we have done everything that we can to support Checo, and we will continue to do so in Brazil. But there comes a point in time that you can only do so much.”
Requested by Sky Sports activities F1 if there have been any worries that he had competed in his final Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix, Perez mentioned: “Zero I’ll be here next year. And I will try to go for the victory because that is my dream.”
Perez: I haven’t got a relationship with Lawson
Perez made contact with Lawson on Lap 18 when the pair went aspect by aspect by way of Turns 4 and 5 of their battle for tenth.
The Purple Bull driver got here off worse with injury to his sidepod and flooring. He struggled for tempo over the remainder of the grand prix as Lawson solely completed down in sixteenth after a later conflict with Williams’ Franco Colapinto.
“Even after the penalty I had for not starting in the box, it was looking great. I was in P10 on the hards,” Perez informed Sky Sports activities F1.
Please use Chrome browser for a extra accessible video participant
Perez clashed with RB’s Liam Lawson within the Mexico Metropolis GP
“The coming together with Lawson was very unfortunate. I don’t get it. He went for the incident, damaging both of our races.
“Then I picked up large injury on the aspect and it was sport over.”
Discuss within the paddock in Mexico Metropolis is that Lawson might change Perez subsequent 12 months if he impresses at RB within the remaining races.
Lawson made a powerful return to F1 at america Grand Prix by scoring factors from the again of the grid, though he had a tense battle with Fernando Alonso, then with Perez and Colapinto in Mexico.
‘I haven’t got any relationship with him. I believe the best way he has come to Formulation 1, I do not assume he has the best perspective for it. He must be a bit extra humble,” said Perez to the written media.
“When a two-time world champion was saying issues final weekend, he fully ignored him. It is like while you come to F1, you are clearly very hungry and so forth, however it’s important to be respectful as effectively, off-track and on-track. I do not assume he is displaying the best perspective. I believe he is an excellent driver and I hope for him that he can step again and study from it.
“In his first two grand prix he has had many incidents. I think there will be a point where it can cost him too much, like it did this weekend.
“I simply assume that he has to have the best perspective to say, ‘Look, most likely I am overdoing it a bit of bit, I’ll step again and begin once more’. As a result of should you do not study out of your errors, Formulation 1 is a brutal world and he may not proceed.”
Formula 1’s Americas triple header concludes this weekend with the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, with every session live on Sky Sports F1. Stream each F1 race and extra with a NOW Sports activities Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime
