Red Bull's Christian Horner: Sergio Perez free to challenge Max Verstappen for Formula 1 title
- Rob Fleming
- 2 May 2023
Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner, has confirmed that Sergio Perez is free to challenge Max Verstappen for the Formula 1 Drivers' Championship.
Following Sergio Perez's win at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Red Bull's team principal Christian Horner confirmed that Perez is free to challenge Max Verstappen for the Formula 1 Drivers' Championship.
The Mexican driver closed the gap between himself and Verstappen to just six points after a dominant weekend in Azerbaijan, marking his second victory of the season.
Horner acknowledged the tension between the two drivers since last season's incident in Brazil but confirmed to media that both drivers were free to race. "They both want to win, which is why they're employed by the team. And I think that it's down to what they do on the track.
"They were free to race today and, all year so far, they've been free. [They are free] until the team's interests - if you're competing against a competitor - becomes bigger than the drivers' interests. But, as it is at the moment, they're free to race."
With no challenger able to keep up with Red Bull's pace in the opening four races, the intra-team battle for the title seems inevitable. "There's a slight gap between the rest of the field, but there's 19 more races to go - and five sprint races. There's a huge amount of racing and a whole variance of different circuits to go through, so it could ebb and flow between the two of them," said Horner.
Horner also stressed the importance of reliability and building a buffer with both of the drivers, stating that Red Bull had a reduced capacity to develop this year. "When we get back to Europe, I'm sure there's going to be sizeable upgrades. We have a reduced capacity to develop this year, so that's where our focus is - trying to build a gap."
The next F1 race is the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday at the Miami International Autodrome.
With Verstappen having won the 2022 edition followed by Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in second and third respectively, all eyes will be on the Red Bull team and their drivers as they continue their battle for the championship.
