Red Bull’s Christian Horner refrained from answering whether Sergio Perez would finish the season as the team’s title hopes took a hit in Mexico.

Perez failed to qualify in the first quarter of his home race in Mexico and after a troubled 70 laps, which included a momentary tussle with replacement Liam Lawson, he qualified 17th and finished last.

Christian Horner: Sergio Perez had a terrible weekend

Arriving in Mexico, Perez had admitted that the F1 2024 season had been “terrible” – something Horner did not move to defend at Friday’s press conference – and the Mexican driver duly produced one of his weakest weekends at home. The crowd at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

Perez, who was eliminated in the first quarter after complaining of brake problems in his RB20, had a strong start; he was given a penalty for a false start, jeopardizing his chances of a comeback.

Max Verstappen took sixth place after his suspension race Red BullTheir title hopes took a big hit as the reigning Champions dropped to third place; Ferrari’s double podium finish moved them ahead of the Milton Keynes-based team.

Speaking to the media, including PlanetF1.com, after the race in Mexico, Horner admitted that his chances of defending the championship were now “very difficult” and explained what happened to Perez.

“We never give up. We will fight hard. “We need both cars, of course we will score goals,” he said.

“Ferrari scored big again today and when it comes to the Teams Championship, we are definitely behind.

“Unfortunately Perez started from outside the penalty area, so he got a penalty for that.

“He placed the car outside the box. He made a mistake and positioned the car too far into the penalty area.

“His first turn was strong, his start was strong as well. The damage he took from Liam took about 70 points worth (damage) with the charge having a hole in the side chamber and half the floor missing. So you were effectively injured at that point and gaining points was never going to be possible .”

Perez had been embroiled in a battle with VCARB’s Liam Lawson, and the pair’s feud was taking on a different dimension, as the fight was likely over the cockpit Perez currently occupied – with Lawson the leading candidate to settle in if he proved impressive in his six-man performance. Race conflict with VCARB.

The battle resulted in both being damaged, and Lawson duly demonstrated his displeasure at his opponent with a hand gesture; The Kiwi was seen talking to Horner after the end of the race.

Horner said of the incident: “I think it shows that the two teams were racing each other and although they had the same ownership they were independent in terms of racing.”

“Now Liam has publicly apologized to Checo (Perez) for the incident. There will be lessons to be learned from this. “But it’s frustrating for Checo today as they race to cover the damage and lose valuable points.”

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As for Perez’s future, which looks increasingly shaky despite extending his contract by two years earlier this season, Horner admitted a change was not entirely unthinkable.

“Checo had another terrible weekend and nothing went right for him this weekend,” he said.

“He knows that Formula 1 is a results-oriented business and when you don’t deliver results you inevitably become the center of attention.

“When someone underperforms, of course, it will always be examined. As a team, we need both cars to score points. That’s the nature of F1.

“(The review) is ongoing. So it’s always there. From a team perspective, we’re working with him as much as we can to support him. I think we’ve done everything we can to support Checo and we’ll continue to do that next weekend in Brazil. But over time there comes a point where you can only do so much.”

Horner said both Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda had poor races for VCARB, saying they “didn’t have a great day” and that there would come a time when a “tough decision” had to be made.

“That scrutiny will always be there,” he said.

“There comes a point in time when difficult decisions have to be made. We are now third in the Constructors’ Championship.

“Our determination is to try to win and get back into a winning position, but it will be very difficult in the next four races.”

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