Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner has warned Sergio Perez that he can’t encounter a repeat of last year’s qualifying struggles if the Formula 1 grid converges in 2024.
Despite Red Bull’s dominance last term, Perez endured a tumultuous third campaign with Red Bull and lagged a mammoth 454 points behind team-mate Max Verstappen.
Troubles over one lap proved the root cause of Perez’s issues, with the Mexican logging the eighth-best average qualifying position (9.09) following a total of eight Q3 absences.
Horner has cautioned that Red Bull is experiencing “diminishing returns” under this regulation cycle, adding that he expects the entire pack to become closer this season.
While Horner has reinstated his faith in Perez ahead of the season, the Red Bull chief asserts that the 33-year-old must improve his qualifying form to earn a new contract.
“It’s Checo’s [Perez] seat,” Horner told Planet F1. “He’s in the car because we believe he’s the right driver now. It’s down to him over the next nine months to demonstrate that we feel that way for 2025.
“Of course, we’ve got great talent in the pool with Daniel [Ricciardo], with Liam [Lawson], with Yuki [Tsunoda]. So time will tell.
“The area that he needs to focus on improving is going to be Saturdays. Making sure that his average qualifying is a lot closer to Max because we know he can race and he’s got great pace, but we need him to be starting further up the grid.
“Particularly if the grid is going to converge then we can’t afford to have a lot of cars between Max and Checo.”
With Perez’s existing deal set to expire at the end of this year, Horner has reiterated that there has been plenty of interest in the Red Bull seat next to Verstappen beyond 2024.
“The car has been very attractive for other drivers to want to be in so we’re not short of options,” Horner added.
“You can imagine that when you’ve got a car that’s won all bar one race, it’s pretty appealing to any driver on the grid.”
“I think he [Peréz] knows what he’s got to do, he’s been around the sport long enough, and he’s got enough experience. So I’m sure he’s going to come in firing on all cylinders.”
Red Bull will host a season launch event for its 2024 challenger, the RB20, on 15 February, six days before the sole pre-season test begins in Bahrain ahead of the first race.
Perez, who claimed second in 2023, has outlined that he is aiming to use Verstappen as a reference to spearhead his hopes for a maiden tilt at the Drivers’ Championship.
