After a strong start to the season, Christian Horner believes that after being defeated by Max Verstappen in Miami, Sergio Perez lost a lot of confidence from that moment on.
Before the Miami Grand Prix, Perez already had two victories, just like his teammate, and was sitting only six points behind him. It seemed that in 2023, the Mexican could really challenge Verstappen for the title until the last race.
Moreover, Perez managed to clinch pole position in Miami, while Verstappen was only starting ninth as he could not finish his last run since Charles Leclerc crashed in Q3 and prevented him from doing so.
However, on Sunday, Verstappen easily managed to make his way up the field and later overtook his teammate to go on and win the race. This, believes Horner, was a tough “psychological blow” for the Mexican.
“The first four or five races he was very, very strong,” said Horner. “And it was really after Miami that I think that was a big, psychological blow for him – losing that race.
“You know, confidence is such a vital thing in this sport and I think that that momentum that he built up [was hit].
“So, by the time we headed back into Europe, it started to disintegrate for him. And then there were sort of peaks and troughs. I mean he drove, for example, a brilliant race in Monza, made a great call in Zandvoort in the wet, then unfortunately mistakes started to creep in as he put more pressure on himself.”
Despite having tough moments, Horner still praised Perez for gaining back his initial form toward the end of the season, something which allowed Red Bull to finish 1-2 in the standings for the first time.
“But what was good to see is him pick his form up again at the end of the season.
“And, of course, to achieve second place in the championship – something he’s never done, something we’ve never done – to achieve a 1-2 finish.”