Red Bull boss Christian Horner has made it clear that Sergio Perez’s main objective for 2024 will be to improve on Saturday in qualifying, which should allow the Mexican to make life easier for him on Sunday in the race.

Sergio Perez started the 2023 campaign in fine form with two pole positions and two wins in the first five races, the Mexican applying some pressure on team-mate Max Verstappen. But very quickly, Perez’s performances began to slide from the Miami Grand Prix onwards and the Red Bull driver found himself in a negative spiral for several weekends, leaving the way clear for his team-mate to take off in the championship.

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Perez qualifying woes

But while Perez has regained some of the form he lost over the course of the season, the last seven Grands Prix have revealed the Mexican’s weakness in qualifying, with his average qualifying position standing at 8.8, while Max Verstappen has managed four pole positions in the same period.

Christian Horner said that although he was pleased with Perez’s efforts on Sunday in the race, his driver often made life more difficult for himself with a significantly below-average qualifying performance on Saturday.

“I think in the last few races he’s sort of reset,” said Christian Horner on Sky Sports during the final weekend of the season in Abu Dhabi.

“His pace, when you look at the analysis of the weekend [in Abu Dhabi] is again very, very strong. He just needs to improve on his Saturdays.”

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Race pace is there

“His race pace is there, his driving is fantastic. He’s probably passed more cars than anyone this year, but we just need him to start in the top four rather than ninth or tenth.”

“He still finished second [in the 2023 World Championship],” said Christian Horner.

“He’s won some great races [Jeddah and Baku], he’s done some great driving, but I think he knows where he needs to improve. I think there will also be a bit of a reset on how he manages his racing for next year.”

“He knows this is a big year for him, he’ll take some time this winter to think about where he needs to improve and I’m sure he’ll be back fighting next year.”

Sergio Perez will be in the final year of his contract with Red Bull Racing in 2024, which will put even more pressure on the Mexican’s shoulders.

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