Christian Horner draws a frustrated figure at Sergio Perez - “Just stay inside the white lines!"

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner mentioned that he was frustrated that Sergio Perez could not 'keep it in the white lines' during the 2023 Austrian GP qualifying session.

The Mexican driver has been under the firing line for his recent performances in the 2023 season. But in the team's home race at the Red Bull Ring, he once again could not get into the Q3 session for the fourth time running as he ended up P15 in the qualifying session for the main race.

While speaking to Sky Sports, Horner said of Sergio Perez's performance:

"He's got the pace today, he's got a car that was easily capable of being on the first or second row, he was matching Max's times, stay in the white lines! It was strike one, strike two, 'Checo just stay in the white lines!' strike three, and that was it."

"Just hugely frustrating because he could have been there, he could have done it. That's the frustration. It's fantastic that we got the pole, but it feels not complete. It was crystal clear [that it was his last opportunity]. It's hugely frustrating. The frustrating thing is we know he can do it, he did a 4.9 on that lap, and he was three hundredths off Max. He could have been four-tenths slower and still been in.

Christian Horner added:

"So Q2, that's not the time to be doing it. That was the frustrating thing because he could have done it today. It is the same for everybody, there's a car ahead which is not going to have helped but then you build in a little more margin. It's annoying because we know he could have been there.

Red Bull team boss on Sergio Perez's mounting pressure in the season

Horner reiterated that Sergio Perez is putting a lot of pressure on himself that he probably doesn't need to at the moment.

He said:

"The most pressure he's under is the pressure he puts under himself. Today he had the pace, Practice One he was right there, the lap times he was doing, and he was tenth for tenth with Max today. So that's the annoying thing, that's the frustration. He can do it.

It will be interesting to see how Sergio Perez bounces back from the disappointment of Friday and have another go at qualifying for the sprint race on Saturday.