Horner delivers Perez boost after Hungary display

Christian Horner has praised Sergio Perez following the Mexican driver's display at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Perez's suffered a disastrous qualifying effort as a spin into the barriers during Q1 ensured he started the race from towards the back of the field.

During the grand prix, Perez rose to seventh place, matching his best result from the last seven races.

Perez is currently driving under major pressure, with doubts raised over his F1 future at Red Bull beyond the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend amid his poor run of form.

However, his race pace during the event at the Hungaroring drew praise from Horner.

“Checo’s race starting on the Hard, he dropped behind Russell, then as soon as he got a bit into clear air after that first pit stop, his pace is similar to the McLarens,” he told media including RacingNews365.

“So he’s actually driven a good race.

“I think the strategy with Checo getting the undercut on George and pitting a bit earlier at that point actually worked really well for him today.

“So I think he had good pace. He made some good passes, and hopefully he will have taken a lot of confidence out of that.”

Perez had 'best race since China'

Perez has struggled to contribute to Red Bull's constructors' championship hunt at recent rounds, with rivals McLaren and Mercedes closing in on the Milton Keynes-based squad.

Red Bull now holds just a 51-point lead over McLaren in the standings with 11 races left to run this year.

Having recovered nine positions en route to a point-scoring finish, Horner is of the opinion that it was Perez's strongest race since round five of the year.

“That was probably Checo's strongest race since China, I would say,” Horner added. 

“He should take some confidence from the race. If he had qualified more in position, he would have been in a much more competitive position.”