Formula 1 is a sport in which all friendships disappear once you’re on track, even if it’s your own teammate. Sergio Perez was hired by Red Bull to be a competent team-mate for Max Verstappen. However, the Mexican driver had set his sights on beating the Dutch World Champion from the very first season. But Perez has been under pressure from Helmut Marko. Checo has faced constant criticism from Marko over the last few weekends. The 80-year-old has been under the impression that Perez needs a change in environment, as the current situation is awfully similar to when Pierre Gasly was in Perez’s position. However, Christian Horner still has faith and has given a crucial lifeline to Perez.

Drivers such as Valtteri Bottas and Heikki Kovalainen who were both fairly racy on their own merit, outright failed against team-mates like Lewis Hamilton. It is a trend that can be observed in almost every historic driver pairing. After all, the toughest rivalry in Formula 1, is the one with your own team-mate. Sergio Perez would find this phenomenon to catch him off guard late into his career.

Christian Horner defends the Mexican Minister of Defense

Speaking to the F1 Nation podcast, the Red Bull Boss backed up Perez, disregarding Marko’s distrust after the Qatar GP. “All we can do is support him. We know what he’s capable of. We saw that earlier in the year and something is missing at the moment and we’ve just gotta help him get back to the kind of form that he showed when he won in Saudi and Azerbaijan. And something is missing at the moment. We need to work with him and support him to try and find that form.”  The team boss who led Red Bull to their first World Championship gave Checo the benefit of the doubt.

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In Horner’s eyes, Perez’s recent performance is redeemable, as showcased by the Mexican’s form in earlier races. This comes as a bit of a surprise, as Horner is seemingly going against what Marko is expressing. The Austrian seems to really not like Sergio Perez, even going as far as to make controversial statements which he later had to apologize for.

Further backing up the Mexican on his performance at Qatar, Christian Horner shared his thoughts, “I think it was a very difficult race for him today, so uh again, we will go through it and the most important thing is that three races (are) coming up with huge amount of points, two doubleheaders, so we need him to be on all cylinders.” Horner has laid out his expectations openly and fairly. The next few races are going to be crucial in the constructor’s battle. Ferrari looks to challenge the current World Champions for the trophy. While Christian Horner seems to have more patience with Perez than Marko does, the Mexican must tread carefully to keep it that way.

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With the strain increasing with each race, Perez must find a method to break free from his current rut. Max Verstappen shows no signs of slowing down and adapts to the car constantly. The faster the factory builds the RB19, the faster Verstappen can push it. This does not appear to be the case with Perez, but Horner is still optimistic.

Pressure from the Red Bull wings on Perez

Helmut Marko isn’t the only one putting strain on Sergio Perez. The brilliance of Liam Lawson at AlphaTauri, along with the return of Daniel Ricciardo, means trouble for Perez. Rumors had already spread across the paddock when AlphaTauri signed Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo is reportedly on track to join Red Bull by 2025. Ricciardo has a strong chemistry with Max Verstappen and is a Red Bull race winner. It should come as no surprise that this put the Mexican in a pickle.

To add insult to injury, Liam Lawson made an impression at the Faenza-based manufacturer after replacing an injured Daniel Ricciardo. Lawson was able to match and even beat his temporary teammate Yuki Tsunoda on many circuits, including Suzuka. After a points finish in the Singapore Grand Prix, Formula One drivers Christian Horner and Helmut Marko commended Lawson.

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The Italian outfit has given possible successors to Perez a strong chance. Finally, it has to be seen whether Perez can keep up with the mounting strain. Will he fall victim to Helmut Marko’s grips like Albon and Gasly? Christian Horner is undoubtedly still on his side. But it’s unclear how long that will last if Perez doesn’t improve.