In response to Red Bull’s handling of struggling Formula One star Sergio Perez, Lewis Hamilton took a hard stance.
Christian Horner, the manager of Red Bull, has retaliated against Lewis Hamilton for his remarks regarding the team’s treatment of Sergio Perez. This season, the Mexican has been under fire from members of his own team for failing to keep up with Max Verstappen at the front of the field.
It would be unprofessional of Perez to miss a one-two in a car as strong as Red Bull’s. Hamilton is still chasing his first race win since 2021, but the team has won all but one of the eighteen Grands Prix this season.
Prior to the Mexican Grand Prix, Hamilton expressed empathy towards Perez regarding the challenging circumstances he believes Red Bull has placed him in. “I believe that he is not receiving any assistance from his team,” the seven-time world champion stated to Fox Sports.
“I know that Red Bull are made up of many members, but there are people who affect him psychologically and don’t support him. If I heard such negative things about myself every weekend, it would be very difficult.”
Horner did not take kindly to the criticism ahead of qualifying on Saturday, reminding Hamilton that he had in fact challenged the standard of Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mates earlier this year. “It’s very nice that Lewis has so much care and attention [for Perez] when he was questioning the validity of Max’s team-mates only a few weeks ago,” said the 49-year-old.
“There’s always rumours that are circulating in this paddock, especially when there’s very little to write about, but [Perez] has a great relationship with the team.
“He has a strong relationship with his team-mate [too], and we want to see him finish second in the Drivers’ Championship, which is something we’ve never achieved before — to have a one-two.”
The comments Horner was referring to were made by Hamilton last month, when the Brit said: “All of my team-mates have been stronger than the team-mates that Max has had. Jenson [Button], Fernando [Alonso], George [Russell], Valtteri [Bottas], Nico [Rosberg]. I’ve had so many. These guys have all been very, very strong, very consistent and Max has not raced against anyone like that.”
With just four races remaining, Perez is leading third-place Hamilton by 39 points and is poised to tie for second in the championship. The Mexican’s home Grand Prix this weekend would be the ideal venue for him to increase his lead.
Considering that Mercedes’ performance in practice was “night and day” in comparison to the exciting race in Austin last weekend, Hamilton expressed doubts about the team’s ability to upset the standings at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
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