Purple Bull crew boss Christian Horner defended Sergio Perez’s lacklustre efficiency in Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, wherein the Mexican was by no means within the combine for a spot on the rostrum.
The normally dependable Purple Bull driver crashed in follow, missed qualifying’s essential Q3 session, and sputtered to an underwhelming eighth-place end within the race itself.
This seemingly uninspired show, that included a pricey mid-race off-track tour, had some questioning whether or not Perez was on high of his recreation at Imola.
However Horner reckoned that Perez’s outcome was solely barely beneath what the crew had anticipated from the Mexican given his lowly P11 beginning place on the grid.
“Our simulations had been saying earlier than the race that P7 was probably optimum and nothing occurred, no Security Automobiles or something like that,” Horner defined after the race.
“He had one journey by way of the gravel that price him about six seconds. However I feel that was concerning the most that he might take from that grid place in the present day.”
Lately, each Horner and Purple Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko praised Perez for his string of stable performances for the reason that starting of the crew’s 2024 marketing campaign, suggesting that the 34-year-old outcomes boded effectively for his possibilities of retaining his seat with the crew in 2025.
Horner reckoned that Perez’s weak weekend at Imola was however a one-off under-performance in an in any other case sturdy season year-to-date.
“I feel it’s only a blip. He’s all the time gone effectively at Monaco, so we are going to see,” Horner added.
“It’s a 24-race calendar. He’s had an incredible begin to the 12 months. His method has been very sturdy. He’s modified his method a bit this 12 months and in the present day’s outcome was dictated by yesterday’s qualifying.”
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Queried as soon as once more on Perez’s future, which the Mexican hopes will probably be sealed sooner relatively than later, Horner urged that Purple Bull remains to be biding its time.
“The entire driver market is taking part in itself out and we all know precisely the place we’re at and what our choices are,” he stated. “Within the timing that’s proper for us we’ll make choices concerning the future.
The Briton didn’t anticipate any problems concerning Perez’s scenario with the crew or any potential contract negotiations.
“Checo’s all the time a really simple man to take care of, so I wouldn’t count on that to be a difficulty,” Horner concluded.
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