Christian Horner has revealed the one thing he ‘expects’ to see from Sergio Perez at the Monaco GP after the Red Bull driver’s disappointing Emilia Romagna GP display.
F1 hits the streets of the Principality this week in a back-to-back with its latest visit to Imola. The Monaco GP also offers Perez the chance to bounce back from his frustrating time at the Emilia Romagna GP. He could only secure a P8 finish after qualifying down in just 11th place.
Perez will also hope to enjoy a better weekend in Monte Carlo than he managed at the 2023 Monaco GP. The Mexican crashed out in qualifying without setting a representative lap in Q1 to start in P20. Red Bull further only saw him move through the order to finish in 16th place.
Christian Horner ‘expects’ a ‘completely different’ race by Sergio Perez at the Monaco GP
The Monaco GP was Perez’s worst result of the 2023 season when the Red Bull star finished a race. He now returns to the Principality after his worst result of the 2024 season so far. He had finished in the top five at each of the opening six rounds and claimed four podiums, too.
Yet Monte Carlo has been a happy hunting ground for the Guadalajara native in the past. It played host to Perez’s victory at the 2022 Monaco GP which secured him a new contract at Red Bull through 2024. He returns to the Principality eying a contract for 2025 and beyond.
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Given Perez won from third on the grid in 2022, Red Bull team principal Horner ‘expects’ to see the Mexican respond immediately after his Emilia Romagna GP woe at the Monaco GP. Horner also recognises his result at Imola was an ‘outlier’ after three P2s and a P3 this year.
“From our perspective, this was an outlier in an otherwise strong season,” Horner explained, via quotes by Speedweek. “Everyone knows how good Perez is in Monaco. So, I expect a completely different performance from him.
“Sergio is approaching the race weekends differently this year, which has paid off with good results. Eighth place [at Imola] was a direct result of 11th place on the grid on a track where overtaking is very difficult.”
Red Bull forecasted a best possible result of P7 in the Emilia Romagna GP for Sergio Perez
Perez left himself with a mountain to climb at the Emilia Romagna GP after qualifying down in 11th place. The Mexican failed to improve with his second run in Q2 with a hastily rebuilt car after crashing in FP3. He caught the inside kerb at Turn 15 and spun off into the barriers.
Horner also saw Perez take a brief trip through the gravel after running deep at Rivazza One during the race. But the Red Bull boss doubts a brief off after locking his front left tyre while running alone in P8 had much of an impact with P7 likely the best that Perez could have got.
He added: “Our simulation says that he couldn’t have made it further forward than seventh place. And it was a race without any unusual incidents, without a safety car phase, nothing.
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“In addition, Perez rowed through a gravel bed once, which cost him about six seconds. But it wouldn’t have made any difference. From his position, eighth place in Imola was probably the maximum.”
Perez’s plight at Imola saw him finish the Emilia Romagna GP a whopping 54.776 seconds off his race-winning teammate, Max Verstappen. His trip through the gravel trap at Rivazza also ensured he finished the race 7.622s behind Mercedes driver George Russell, who sealed P7.
But Mercedes slashed the margin between Russell and Perez by pitting the 26-year-old for a blast at the fastest lap. The Briton stopped from P6 on L52 of the 63 to take the extra point. Lewis Hamilton was running in P7 before Russell stopped with a gap exceeding 26s to Perez.
The post ‘I expect’: Horner outlines Perez target for Monaco GP after Red Bull star’s Imola woe appeared first on F1 Oversteer.