Red Bull he will let his pilots fight for the championship. That’s the idea of Christian Horner, head of the energy drink team, who wanted to stop the rumors circulating in the ‘paddock’ and that they suggest that the set-up problems that Sergio Pérez’s car had in the Australian Grand Prix they were provoked by the team to prevent the Mexican and Max Verstappen from fighting for victory.
The controversy started at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. On Saturday, Pérez took pole position, while Verstappen suffered a broken bearing that forced him to start from fifteenth position. The Mexican was able to escape and open a gap of more than five seconds so that, when his teammate reached second position, he could not dispute the victory. Even so, the current world champion was not satisfied with the result and snatched the fastest lap from the Mexican in the last lap, which caused the anger of ‘Checo’.
The tension that existed in the Red Bull garage in Jeddah raised suspicions among rivals and fans that Red Bull would take measures to prevent history from repeating itself in Australia, and problems with the Mexican’s car added gasoline to the fire.
“They have the same car”
A week later, Christian Horner, Red Bull’s team manager, has clarified that the team is not going to interfere in the fight between its two drivers. “Max and Checo have the same car. It is up to them to choose their destiny and how they face the race for the title on the track”, said Horner.
Horner assures that, despite the advantage that Red Bull has at the moment, the battle for the title will not only be between its two drivers, but between the four leading teams, including Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso: “You cannot predict that everything will come down to a battle between our two pilots. In Melbourne the positions were more closed. we can’t underestimate to Ferrari, that will react Mercedes will reach the level with its new car. And Aston Martin is a great car that will change by 60% if we listen to what Alonso says.”
For this reason, he assures that although team orders have not yet been adopted, they will do so if necessary to prevent the championship from slipping away. “What I am not going to do is let me win”Horner explains.
Helmut Marko has also spoken about the tension experienced in Saudi Arabia, and clarifies that, beyond disputes, the goal is the double. “We want the double in the Championship, being our pilots first and second”, says Marko.
In addition, the Red Bull adviser assures that if Pérez does not win the renewal in 2023, Yuki Tsunoda could replace him next season at Red Bull.
