Red Bull boss Christian Horner insists that Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez are ‘free to race’

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has stated that Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen are ‘free to race’ as the teammates appear to be on a collision course for this year’s Drivers’ Championship.

The 2023 Red Bull challenger looks set to be in a league of its own against the rest of the competition, with Perez and Verstappen sharing two wins each in the opening four events of this season.

Perez closed the gap to Verstappen at the top to just six points after winning the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, as well as the sprint race the day before.

Red Bull has often been criticized in the past for appearing to favor one driver over another, with some expecting the team to favor two-time world champion Verstappen in its quest for a third consecutive title.

However, Horner maintains that as long as they are free from their competition, they are allowed to fight.

Christian Horner insists both drivers are ‘free to race’ until the team’s interests become more important

Horner told reporters on Sunday, “Right now it’s just the two of them. There is a small gap between the rest of the field, but there are still 19 races to go and five sprint races.

“There’s a lot of racing going on and there’s a whole variety of different tracks you have to go through, so it can be an ebb and flow between the two.

“Reliability will be a key factor. And what we are also more focused on at the moment is building a buffer with both drivers. Because when we return to Europe, I’m sure there will be significant upgrades (from other teams).

And of course we have a reduced capacity to develop this year (due to their penalty for breaking the budget cap in 2021), so that’s where our focus is, trying to build a gap.

“There are six points between them after four races, so they are both competitive drivers. They both want to win and that is why they are employed by the team. And I think it’s because of what they do on the track.

“They were off to race today and they’ve been off all year so far.”

When asked if that will continue later in the season, he added: “Yes, until the team’s interests, when you’re racing against a competitor, outweigh the drivers’ interests. But as it is now, they are free to race.”

Verstappen has faced little competition from teammates since Daniel Ricciardo finished ahead of him in the 2017 season.

Verstappen has rarely been challenged by a teammate in the past five seasons in F1

However, Perez is looking to battle for the double world champion title and has made an impressive start to the season with wins at street circuits in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan.

Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and Perez have all struggled to stay on track with the Dutchman since then.

After two wins from the first four races, Perez hopes to break that trend and said on the team radio after the race in Baku that his side is ‘still in the fight’.

After Perez’s victory at this season’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, questions were raised about favoritism within the Red Bull team.

Perez had questioned a radio instruction to hold his lap time, wondering if the same instruction had been given to his chasing teammate.

Verstappen then asked about the fastest lap, but was told the team was ‘not worried about it’. Verstappen promptly replied, ‘but I am’, and took the fastest lap away from Perez on the very last lap.

This seemed to irk Perez, who explained afterwards that he felt different information had been given to himself and Verstappen – with the fastest lap earning the 25-year-old an extra point towards his collection.