Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner will be delighted with one driver in his line-up right now.
Despite not necessarily having the fastest car on the grid, Max Verstappen won the Sprint Race and put in a dominating display in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix.
He was several tenths ahead of his closest rival Lando Norris and more than half a second clear of the rest of the field.
That included Sergio Perez, who after squeezing into the points in the Sprint Race, could only put in a lap worthy of 8 for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Red Bull chief Christian Horner was speaking to Sky Sports F1 about the Mexican driver after the session.
In a year where there’s so much volatility in the driver’s market, Red Bull had plenty of options for their second seat alongside Verstappen if they wanted to replace Perez.
After a good start to the year, his form has fallen off a cliff and yet Perez earned a new contract that will see him stay with the team until at least the end of the 2025 season.
READ MORE: Every confirmed driver for the 2025 Formula 1 season so far
However, Perez needs to improve quickly otherwise the pressure will continue to build, but Horner has admitted that while the Mexican is ‘underdelivering’ right now, there’s still one thing that he’s doing that left him impressed.
Whether that’s enough to keep senior Red Bull staff happy – especially with five drivers in the team’s roster competing for four seats – is another matter.
READ MORE: Red Bull driver Sergio Perez’s life outside F1 from net worth to nickname
Christian Horner shares what’s impressed him about ‘underdelivering’ Sergio Perez
Asked about the 34-year-old, Horner said: “Checo [Perez] knows it’s a pressure business and he knows the scrutiny there is particularly in a car that’s winning a lot of races and performing with the driver the way it is.
“So that’s Formula 1 and that pressure just naturally exists on any teammate that is underdelivering.
“The media start asking questions and it’s very easy to lose your head at that.
“Now, what I’ve been impressed with Checo over the last four years is whenever the pressure’s really been on, and it’s on at the moment, he’s always been able to bounce back and he’s going to need to dig deep to do that.”
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links
Sergio Perez needs to impress at the Austrian Grand Prix
Perez’s Sprint Race didn’t go to plan, losing a position to Charles Leclerc from the start and failing to even keep up with the Monegasque driver in the same car as Verstappen who managed to pull out a gap on Oscar Piastri.
Going into qualifying, he finally returned to Q3 but had to use up every set of his soft tyres in the process.
It meant he could only set a faster time than Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon and will start on the fourth row of the grid once again.
Last season, Perez qualified 15 in Austria but still managed to make his way through the pack to finish on the podium.
Despite starting seven places further forward on Sunday, it’s hard to see him making the same amount of progress given how much the grid has converged in the past 12 months.
Perez’s position at Red Bull will continue to be questioned if his performances don’t improve even if Horner is impressed by his ability to perform when the pressure is on.
Marc Priestley has suggested that Perez’s performances are beginning to spiral out of control.
Martin Brundle was left confused by Perez earlier in the race weekend and if he doesn’t step up and start closing the gap to his teammate soon, then doubts will begin to grow at Red Bull about whether they made the right decision on his future.
The post 'That pressure': Christian Horner shares what ‘underdelivering’ Sergio Perez has done that’s ‘impressed’ him appeared first on F1 Oversteer.