BAKU, Sept 13 (Reuters) – Red Bull team boss Christian Horner backed Sergio Perez to recover his form after the Mexican suggested he could benefit more than teammate Max Verstappen from any fix to the car issues that have slowed the Formula One champions.
Red Bull and once-dominant triple champion Verstappen are on a six-race losing streak, with the Dutch driver finishing only sixth in last round’s Italian Grand Prix, won by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Currently eight points clear of McLaren in the constructors’ standings with eight races left, Red Bull risk falling behind their rivals in Baku as the season enters its final long-haul phase.
Asked about Verstappen’s recent remarks on Red Bull’s performance, Perez said his team probably did not notice the severity of the issues with Verstappen “coping well with them”.
He added that the problems may have been masked by the drivers’ different styles.
“It wasn’t so obvious the issue with (Max’s) driving style, where with my driving style it all became a lot more apparent probably since race number three of the season,” the Mexican told reporters ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
“The issues I was having they just got worse and worse and now Max seems to be finding similar issues.
“(Resolving the issue) is something that will help both drivers. It will help me even more, you know, because of the driving style I have.”
McLaren’s Lando Norris is 62 points behind Verstappen in the drivers’ battle, while Perez — seventh in the standings — has failed to finish in the top three in the last 11 rounds.
Horner said Perez had showed improved form since returning from the summer break last month, prior to which he said the Mexican had struggled with media speculation about his role.
Perez was showing “signs of a good recovery,” he added, and said he hoped an improved car would alleviate his struggles.
“We know we’ve got some issues with the car we’re pushing to sort out, you know, and he’s been putting a lot of hard work to address that,” Horner told reporters in Baku.
“We’re starting to see him find some of the form that hopefully he showed at the beginning of the year because we’re going to need it as we strive to defend this constructors’ title.”
Red Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan, discussing the car’s upgraded floor, hoped to see an improvement in Sunday’s race though Horner said some of the changes were more applicable to faster flowing venues like the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, rather than street tracks like Baku and next round’s Singapore.
“We’ve licked our wounds, learned our lessons. Well, the proof in the pudding will obviously be on Sunday, but we have tried to bring changes to the car and make it better,” Monaghan said.