Christian Horner explains Max Verstappen teammates’ extreme struggles ft. Sergio Perez, Daniel Ricciardo

Since his debut in Formula 1, Max Verstappen has consistently improved his performance on the F1 tracks. The Dutch sensation has played a vital role in accelerating the Red Bull team to the leading position in the 2023 Formula 1 season.

Despite Verstappen’s incredible performance, his teammates have always struggled to reach the same level of excellence, resulting in comparatively short stays within the team. Recently, Christian Horner has publicly addressed this concern in an interview.

Horner explains why Verstappen’s teammate struggles so much

Lately, the team principal of Red Bull has addressed the media, explaining the consistent underperformance of Sergio Perez in the previous season and elaborating on the team’s decision to allow it.

Max Verstappen has always stolen the limelight from the entire Red Bull team. Last year, the Dutch driver clinched the third title along with breaking several records, marked by the previous Formula 1 legends. The F1 experts have also made a significant prediction, suggesting that Verstappen could be the first and final driver of a decade to break such substantial records in a very short period of time.

However, there is always one significant problem associated with the Red Bull driver. His teammates never seem to last for a long time due to their inability to catch up with Verstappen’s driving skills. Many drivers, such as Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, and Alexander Albon, have already had the experience.

Sergio Perez has also openly expressed the agony of consistently being under pressure to match Verstappen’s consistent achievements on track. Even though the Mexican had started the 2023 season with two consecutive wins, he was evidently struggling in the latter half of the season both physically and mentally.

Christian Horner has openly acknowledged that Perez’s underperformance is due to the immense pressure put on him constantly, hampering his own unique driving skills. When the team principal was questioned about Checo’s underperformance, he replied, “Because he [Verstappen] is so damn good, that’s the problem.”

“We felt that Sergio [Perez] had something to do with his experience. I have known Sergio for a long time and pushed very hard to bring him to the team because of the experience he brought with him. He has won four races for us and played a crucial role in the 2021 championship, so he justified bringing him in.”

Ex-Formula 1 driver calls Max Verstappen “a cannibal”

The ex-Formula 1 driver, Giancarlo Fisichella, has labelled Max Verstappen a “cannibal,” as he is completely dominating all the other drivers on the team without any mercy.

The last three seasons have undoubtedly been a blessing in disguise for Red Bull due to Verstappen clinching three titles in three seasons. So far, Charles Leclerc has progressed an inch towards beating the Dutch driver. However, Verstappen quickly grabbed his opportunity with the help of his monstrous driving skills and secured the second title in 2022.

In this season, no driver could have enough skills to surpass the Hulk driver. Therefore, as a result, Verstappen has singlehandedly won 19 out of 22 overall races.

Do you think Max Verstappen could dominate the next season as well? Tell us in the comment section below.