Sergio Perez had a great weekend at the Japanese GP after securing a front-row start and finishing second in the race. The Suzuka weekend was a great comeback for Red Bull after a nightmare Australian GP. During Qualifying in Japan, Team Principal Christian Horner and Perez seemed to have made a bet Hence, after the Mexican driver won the deal, Horner revealed an interesting fact about the entire ordeal
The bet was between Christian Horner and Sergio Perez about the result in Qualifying. The duo bet on Perez scoring a front row qualifying for the main race in the Japanese GP. Subsequently, the 34-year-old won the bet with his incredible performance. Horner even mentioned the entire situation on team radio about how Perez cost him money after the race.
Soon after the race, Horner reflected upon the bet. The 50-year-old asserted that Perez owed the same amount of the bet money to ex-F1 Supremo Bernie Ecclestone presumably due to some old incident. Hence, Horner mentioned that the EX-F1 CEO still made money despite not being present in the sport.
[Perez] told me he owed Bernie Ecclestone exactly the same amount of money so he passed the money on the bet to Bernie, who was the real beneficiary of Checo's front row. So dear old Bernie is still making money despite not even being here . Christian Horner said, as reported by formulapassion.it.
Christian Horner reaffirms Sergio Perez’s Red Bull seat is ‘his to lose’
Sergio Perez has currently been performing well in the 2024 season. However, a late-season performance slump like his dismal 2023 campaign could once again endanger Checo’s future at Milton Keynes. The 34-year-old constantly needs to be on his toes in terms of performance to ensure his seat beyond the 2024 season. Horner mentioned that Checo’s confidence was high and he was currently comfortable in the team.
I think his confidence is high, he's very focused on the job at hand, and he's comfortable in the team. Christian Horner said, as reported by timesnownews.com.
Apart from this, Horner also hinted towards Perez’s contract with Milton Keynes which expires at the end of this year. With the Mexican driver being aware of his situation. Christian Horner mentioned that it was Sergio Perez’s seat to lose. Regardless, the Red Bull team boss mentioned that Checo started the season in the best possible way. Previously, the 50-year-old has stated that at least 16 drivers want to race for Milton Keynes.
And he knows he's out of contract for next year, it's his seat to lose, he's very popular in the team, and he's started the season in the best possible way. He just needs to keep doing what he's doing. Christian Horner noted.
Hence, Sergio Perez must perform and match Max Verstappen throughout this season. Red Bull has provided both drivers with great opportunities to score a victory for the 2024 season. Perez just needs to extract the maximum potential from the highly dominant RB20 and ensure early security over his Red Bull seat from 2025.
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