Sergio Perez is out of contract for next year. The Mexican driver aims to leave an imprint on Red Bull’s Christian Horner to not forget about the driver he signed for Red Bull back in 2021. The Japanese GP was a good race for the 34-year-old was according to the Red Bull team boss. The 50-year-old made a humorous analogy when Perez dived in for a move on Lewis Hamilton at 130R.
Sergio Perez endured one of the worst races of his career in the latter half of the 2023 season. This raised questions about whether the Mexican deserved to be in a Red Bull. Subsequently, the 34-year-old was on a mission in Japan to prove his worth to the paddock and save his seat for the next season.
Subsequently, this mission was accomplished when even his Christian Horner watched his overtakes with teeth gritted in between. The 50-year-old admitted that he was nervous about the way the Mexican was dancing his car around and making overtakes at precarious speeds. Horner reckoned that Perez was driving like his life was on the line and that he did not have three kids waiting at home for him.
There were a couple of moments where, I must admit, I had my eyes shut as he went into 130R… do you need to do it there? Can’t you wait until the straight? He didn’t look like he had three kids when he made that move! Christian Horner said in an interview with FormulaPassion.it
Sergio Perez explains why he was on a charge at the Japanese GP
Perez has played second fiddle to Max Verstappen so far in the 2024 season. However, the Mexican driver is determined this season to give a tough challenge to his world-champion teammate for the title. Perez began the Japanese GP weekend by qualifying six hundredths behind Verstappen.
Perez later explained why he made such daring moves at the Japanese GP. The 34-year-old stated that he was stuck behind a slower car [Lewis Hamilton] and was weary about the tire degradation. So he decided to go for a move which brought back fond memories of Fernando Alonso‘s move on Michael Schumacher at the famous 130R.
Having to stay behind a slower car for a long time, given the degradation of the tires they had, was quite penalizing. So I decided to immediately go for the overtaking . And both times it happened to the 130R Sergio Perez said in the post-race press conference
This performance would have helped build a stronger case for Perez to seem like the best option for the team going into 2025. Such performances are necessary for the six-time winner as he is under constant threat of losing his seat to a fast Spaniard, Carlos Sainz. However, it remains to be seen if Red Bull decides to extend Sergio Perez’s stay at the team beyond this season.
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