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F1 pundit and reporter Ted Kravitz has questioned Red Bull boss Christian Horner's contradicting stances when it came to Sergio Perez during the Chinese GP.
The race in Shanghai saw the Mexican secure podiums in both the sprint and the main race. Perez secured P3 in both races as Max Verstappen won comfortably.
Talking to Sky Sports, Horner was questioned about Perez and his form revival in 2024. The Mexican struggled a lot in 2023, and that saw the Austrian team look for alternatives, including Daniel Ricciardo. Perez's contract ends in 2024, and the driver was under pressure when the season began.
However, after securing four podiums in five races, Sergio Perez seems to have grown in confidence. Talking about the Mexican's form, the Red Bull boss took shots at the media over how it underestimated the driver. However, about a contract extension, Horner said that the team isn't taking a decision anytime soon.
Talking about that on the latest edition of Ted's Notebook on Sky Sports, Kravitz questioned the double speak from the Red Bull boss about Sergio Perez. He said:
“You might have heard Christian Horner, talking to Simon Lazenby after qualifying, seemingly blaming the media for discounting Sergio Perez. This is the same Christian Horner who, in the press conference when he was asked about what he put Checo’s improvement, said, ‘Probably because it’s contract renewal season’."
He added:
“So think about it this way. You’re Sergio Perez and you’ve done a lot of work in the simulator in Milton Keynes and a lot of work with Hugh Bird to improve yourself and you’ve made great improvements. You’re second to Max Verstappen at most of the races so far and you’ve really upped your game. Sergio might want a quick contract for the future, but Christian isn’t going to give him that either."
“So, ignoring Checo’s, ‘We’re going to sit down and discuss this in the next few weeks’ line, Christian said, ‘We’re not deciding drivers for a long time’… then went and sang Carlos Sainz’s praises.”
What Christian Horner said about Sergio Perez's future at Red Bull
Christian Horner was non-committal when it came to sharing the timeline of when the team would provide Sergio Perez a contract extension.
When questioned if he concurred with the view shared by the Mexican that contract negotiations are at an advanced stage, Horner said that the team is in no rush to sign an extension. In the team principal press conference before the race, he said:
“Sergio of course would like to make an announcement tomorrow undoubtedly, but we as a team aren’t in a particular rush. We’re in a fortunate position where many drivers would obviously like to drive for the team, but we’re happy with the pairing that we have.
"We just want to make sure that the level of consistency that Checo started the season is maintained and in due course, we will evaluate those options."
It will be interesting to see if Sergio Perez signs an extension with Red Bull. The start of the season has been impressive, but it remains to be seen if he continues that form.
