Is Perez in a downward spiral again? This is what Horner thinks of that!

Sergio Perez is still without a contract after this season. While the Mexican should actually prove himself, he had a rather poor weekend in Imola. But Christian Horner is not yet dissatisfied with his performance, he said in the constructors' press conference at Monaco.

Perez has been driving for Red Bull Racing's team since 2021. As Max Verstappen's teammate, he has always been slightly off. Red Bull do not mind this margin, as long as he stays close. In Imola, the Mexican finished eighth, while Verstappen won the race. This was partly due to Perez's poor qualifying.

Perez experiences these fluctuations in performance more often during seasons. The Mexican then misses out especially on Saturday, leaving him with a catch-up race on Sunday. In Imola, overtaking is almost impossible which meant the 34-year-old could barely get to the front during the Grand Prix.

In Monaco, Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner was asked about whether he fears that Perez is in a downward spiral again. To that he replied: "No, I don't think so. I think he's driven very well so far this year. Obviously, Imola was a tricky qualifying or a tricky Saturday for him, going back to FP3, but I think when you look at the drives that he's put in across a variance of circuits this year he's performing well. So in the fullness of time, we'll work out what we're going to do," Horner indicated on the contract negotiations.