Horner: 'Bottas and Perez will play a crucial role in the championship'

In recent seasons it has generally been two Mercedes drivers against Max Verstappen. The Dutchman did not get the backing he wanted from his teammates Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon. With the arrival of Sergio Perez, the roles seem to have finally reversed.

Crucial role in the championship

While Gasly and Albon barely made it onto the podium, Perez took his first win for Red Bull in Baku. The Mexican was on hand to give the team a good result when Verstappen dropped out. A role that Valtteri Bottas filled in recent years at Mercedes.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner sees it the same way. "Bottas has done a great job for Mercedes in recent years. He has been a loyal servant," he told Auto Motor und Sport. According to Horner, both Bottas and Perez are important for the title fight. "With Checo we now have a driver who can do the same. They will both play a crucial role until the end of the championship."

Getting used to a new car

Verstappen's new teammate clearly needed some getting used to the first few races, but there's clearly improvement. "He's getting better and better at his stride, has a lot of speed in the race and just needs to work a bit on the Saturdays. If he can do that as well, it increases our chances."

Perez, by the way, is not the only one who had to get used to his new car this season. Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel also had their start-up problems. "Every car works differently with the tyres. And these cars are extremely complicated. It takes time to understand what you need to do with the car to influence the tyres to work properly. With the exception of Carlos Sainz, each of the changers had their problems."