Seatoday.com, Jakarta Perez has been under pressure throughout much of 2023 as his early title charge faded, with teammate Max Verstappen wrapping up the championship in Qatar. In Mexico City, teammate Sergio Horner said a home win would be a good morale boost for Perez, who finished P3 in Free Practice 1 and P5 in Free Practice 2. Rumours around Perez include claims of friction with Verstappen, announcing his retirement this year, and that his seat for 2024 at Red Bull was unsafe. Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton also expressed concerns about Red Bull's support for Perez. Horner denied any plans of retirement and praised Lewis Hamilton's care and attention for Perez. He stated that Perez has a great relationship with the team and wants to see him finish second in the championship, which is something they've never achieved before. Red Bull's factory has switched to building a car to succeed their dominant RB19 for 2024, but the remaining four Grands Prix in 2023 are "like cup finals" to the team.
“[Sergio] has a great relationship with the team, a strong relationship with his team mate, and we want to see him finish second in the championship, which is something we’ve never achieved before – to have a one-two.”
Meanwhile, Horner said that despite attention at Red Bull’s factory having now switched to building a car to succeed their dominant RB19 for 2024, the remaining four Grands Prix in 2023 were “like cup finals” to the team.
“Trackside, we’re absolutely focused on the four remaining events,” he said. “They’re like cup finals for us. But obviously back in the factory, a lot of the attention is on ’24, as I guess most of the teams are. But certainly every individual race has great value to us.”
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