“It’s his seat to lose.” – That’s what Christian Horner said in Japan about Sergio Perez’s future at Red Bull. After a disappointing season in 2023, when he couldn’t even score half the points tally of Max Verstappen, Checo has come back stronger this season, with three second-place finishes behind the Dutchman in 4 races. Horner, who has repeatedly said that Checo needs to perform to retain his seat, came to his defense in China after the Mexican locked out the front row alongside Verstappen.

With his contract expiring at the end of 2024, Perez’s future at Red Bull has been under question for some time now. Names like Daniel Ricciardo, Liam Lawson, and Carlos Sainz have been thrown in the mix as Checo’s replacement for 2025. However, the Mexican driver has been doing exactly what is expected from him so far in 2024.

Apart from the Australian Grand Prix where Verstappen suffered mechanical failure and Sergio Perez lost downforce due to a helmet tear off sticking in his floor, the Red Bulls have finished 1-2 in all the other races. That’s the maximum anyone can expect from Verstappen’s teammate. And Christian Horner seems to be extremely satisfied with the Mexican’s recent form.

Speaking about his driver after the qualifying session, Horner said, “You guys [Journalists] have the tendency to write [Checo] off. He is doing a great job, and he has come into this season with a clear frame of mind. He is doing a great job, and locked out the front row today.“

“He’s been very close in the four races so far this season, particularly at a track like Suzuka where last year he struggled quite a bit, but certainly this year he was very competitive. He’s put a lot of hours in on the sim and his approach going into a Grand Prix weekend and set-up and so on has converged with his team-mate. So, he’s applying himself well and has driven some good races so far this year,” he added.

The front-row lockout for the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday was even more special for Red Bull and Christian Horner because a major milestone was achieved by Verstappen.

Max Verstappen takes Red Bull’s 100th pole position in Formula 1

Having missed out on pole position in the Sprint Qualifying yesterday, Verstappen was back on the top of the grid as he scored his 5th consecutive pole position of the season. It was Verstappen’s 37th individual pole, and it gave Red Bull their 100th pole position as a team. Interestingly, the Dutchman is the first driver since Mika Hakkinen in 1999 to have started the season with 5 back-to-back pole positions.

Reflecting on his earlier conversation with Christian Horner, Verstappen said, “Before I jumped in the car Christian told me if you get pole today it could be number 100 for the team, so I was like, ‘Okay, that’s nice, I’ll try and give it a good go’. Of course, that’s an incredible achievement for the whole team. Also a big contribution from Seb [Vettel] back in the day! But it’s fantastic also to have the one-two in qualifying, it showed that the car is again working really well.”

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Can Sergio Perez challenge Verstappen for a win in Shanghai or will it be the same old same old with Verstappen taking an easy win yet again? Share your race predictions in the comments down below.