Red Bull, directly or indirectly, he has participated in the development of eight of the current 20 Formula 1 drivers. The renewal of Checo Pérez until the end of the 2024 season It was not the best news for other drivers, since it blocks a place in one of the teams that are fighting for the title and makes it more difficult to fight to get to that place, although there is a scenario in which the Mexican you could lose your place.
Christian Horner, The CEO of the team, spoke at The Cambridge Union event at the University of Cambridge about how happy he is with the Mexican and likes the competition between drivers – as long as they do not collide with each other – but understands the frustration it implies for others. .
“Taking the option with Sergio for the next few years, leave out the others, unless completely no results in 2023 or early 2024. For someone like Pierre Gasly it’s incredibly frustrating or for Alex, because the seat is locked. What we try to do is help them to stay in Formula 1, to have the opportunity to show their talent and see how it develops.. Sergio is not getting any younger, it may be the last contract he signs.”
Changes in Czech for this season
“The drivers that we have, with Sergio being older and wiser, he understands the whole picture. He said it last year, he was subservient to the team, he helped his teammate on multiple occasions, especially in that last race, stopping Lewis Hamilton Without it, Max was not champion. This year is different they are different cars and new configurations and Sergio understands the car more and believes in himself, that he can be a champion. That creates another dynamic, that our main competition is Ferrari, but pilots want to fight each other. You have to tell them that it’s not his car, it’s one of the 800 people who designed it, that they respect that.”
Two drivers fighting for the title
“It’s a conflict because you have the interest of the target and we get paid for the place in the constructors’ championship. No one gets a bonus because their driver wins the drivers’ championship. We are all interested in the constructors’ championship. Vanity or prestige is with the pilots, but they are hired by the team and have the conflict because they are interested in the other title. The teammate is a fallacythe worst thing is that the driver of the other car is the only one you will be judged against because he is the one with the same equipment, he can make or break your race.
Checo Prez affected the strategy of Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi
“Everything changed because we used Sergio Prez early to stop Lewis Hamilton and give Max a chance, and This is how we prevented them from having a ‘free’ pit stop. That put Mercedes in a dilemma, whether to continue or not. We had nothing to lose, par and Max with fresh tires, it was all in him.”
Verstappen’s overtaking was an ‘accident’
“He told us at the end of the race that by going behind the pace car, I had a terrible cramp and I couldn’t feel the brake pedal. He said that he did not intend to pass Lewis there and that he attacked the gap and I thought I could use the brakes.”
