F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Perez thanks Red Bull for support through 2023 'roller coaster'

Red Bull driver Sergio Perez has thanked his team for sticking with him during what proved to be a wild up-and-down ride through 2023.

The season started well with two race wins in the first four outings, but then hit the skids with increasingly troubled qualifying performances putting him on the back foot for race day.

He did manage to steady the ship in the final races and emerged with the runners-up spot in the drivers' championship in the final standings, the first time Red Bull have had the top two drivers as well as team crown.

“Obviously we started really strongly the year," Perez trold last month's FIA Prize Giving Gala. "Then we had a bit of a rollercoaster mid-season,”

“But we didn’t give up, we stuck together as a team, and I want to thank my whole team for supporting me," he continued.

“We went through very tough times, but we managed to secure the best season in the history of our team," he added.

"We’ve learned from those difficult moments, [and] we will come back next year stronger," he concluded.

There had been speculation that Red Bull might consider dropping Perez in favour of former driver Daniel Ricciardo who made a return to racing with sister squad AlphaTauri mid-season.

But team boss Christian Horner had remained committed to the Mexican driver, at least for the remainder of his current contract in 2024.

©RedBull

“Being Max Verstappen’s team mate is a very, very tough gig,” Horner told Sky Sports. “I think that he’s shown real mental strength to be able to cope with that.

"The area that he needs to focus on and improve next year is going to be Saturdays, making sure that his average qualifying is a lot closer to Max," he acknowledged.

“We know he can race and he’s got great pace, but we need him to be starting further up the grid."

Perez and Red Bull 'got away' with poor grid spots this year because of the sheer dominance of the RB19 on race day. But Horner is aware that advantage is unlikely to last.

©RedBull

"Particularly if the grid is going to converge, then we can’t afford to have a lot of cars between Max and Checo," he stated.

As to whether Perez will stay in the car beyond the end of the next season, Horner was non-commital.

“The car has been very attractive for other drivers to want to be in, so we’re not short of options," he pointed out. “Obviously there’s no guarantees of anything.

"But Checo, he’s our driver in 2024, and if he does a great job we’ll want to keep him for 2025," he added. "It’s all going to be about how he performs and how he delivers in relation to his team mate.”

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

Recent Posts

Leclerc confident Ferrari ‘has a shot’ at F1 Constructors’ title

Charles Leclerc believes that Ferrari has a genuine “shot” at beating rival McLaren to Formula…

23 mins ago

Komatsu: F1 teams united against Audi 2026 cost-cap offset

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has revealed that nine Formula 1 teams stand in opposition…

2 hours ago

Las Vegas GP: Hamilton leads Mercedes 1-2 in trouble-free FP1

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell led the field in a chilly but trouble-free first practice…

3 hours ago

2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix Free Practice 1 - Results

Full results from Free Practice 1 for the Las Vegas Grand Prix in the United…

3 hours ago

Aston Martin says performance shortfall led to Fallows exit

Aston Martin performance director Tom McCullough has shed some light on why the team’s former…

12 hours ago

FIA clamps down on plank loophole after Red Bull complaint

The FIA has issued a pivotal Technical Directive to F1 teams ahead of this weekend’s…

13 hours ago