Christian Horner gives his take on the war of words between Red Bull and McLaren since Austin
Christian Horner believes Red Bull has faced excessive scrutiny due to McLaren’s off-track criticism. Speaking to media, including Sportskeeda, during the team representatives’ press conference, the Briton suggested that McLaren had gone out of their way to criticize Red Bull at every opportunity.
Red Bull came under scrutiny for using a particular ‘bib device’ in Austin, and Max Verstappen’s driving style was heavily questioned following his wheel-to-wheel battle with Lando Norris.
According to Christian Horner, McLaren has taken every opportunity to criticize various aspects of Red Bull. While acknowledging that leading teams are often in the spotlight, Horner emphasized that he had no interest in engaging in an off-track war of words with McLaren.
Asked by Sportskeeda if McLaren’s war of words off-track highlighted a vendetta against Red Bull, the Red Bull CEO said:
“Well, first of all, in terms of war of words, I'm always intrigued to read that because I don't think we've been making too many comments about McLaren. Obviously, they've raised their right of review over last weekend, which is their right. And the FIA will hear that through their process. Now, inevitably, when you're running at the sharp end, then everything comes under more scrutiny. And you can feel that, you know, certainly McLaren are being quite vocal in certain aspects, you know, about many, many parts of our team, our car, stewards, et cetera, et cetera.”
Christian Horner insists Sergio Perez has a contract until the end of 2025 with Red Bull
Christian Horner dismissed speculation surrounding Sergio Perez’s future, affirming that the Mexican driver is under a contract with Red Bull until the end of 2025. The Red Bull Racing CEO clarified that the only seat available was at the junior team, VCARB.
While he admired Liam Lawson’s performance after the USGP, Horner refrained from speculating about the New Zealander’s future within Red Bull, emphasizing that it would require an evaluation over five races to make final decisions.
Asked about the driver situation at Red Bull for next year and the speculation surrounding Perez, Horner said:
“Well, as I mentioned earlier, Checo has a contract for next year, so he's currently our driver for 2025. Obviously, there is a seat available at VCARB, and they're all Red Bull racing drivers that are on loan. So, you know, we have the benefit of time to sit down with Laurent and Peter and look at all the options
Asked what Lawson could be capable of in the Red Bull, Horner said:
“I mean, that's difficult to hypothesize. I mean, he's obviously a talented guy. We know a bit about him from the work he's been doing in tire testing and so on. And he's a talent that's continuing to nurture and continuing to grow. So it's interesting to see how he performs over these remaining five races.”
Perez has significantly underperformed in 2024 compared to his first three seasons with Red Bull. While his teammate Max Verstappen leads the driver’s championship, Perez finds himself 204 points behind in eighth place. In the constructors’ standings, Red Bull trails McLaren by 40 points and faces the threat of losing second place to Ferrari, who are just eight points behind.
After the USGP, Christian Horner expressed hopes that Perez would deliver a stronger performance at his home race in Mexico, but the Mexican driver was knocked out in the first qualifying session and will start from 17th on the grid. Earlier in the weekend, Perez described the 2024 season as one of the worst of his career.