Team Principal Christian Horner believes it was good for Red Bull to confirm Sergio Perez's future with the team early, rather than letting the situation run on. On Friday, Red Bull announced Perez had signed a contract extension to stay alongside Max Verstappen next season when Formula 1 introduces a new set of technical regulations. "I think it's good for everybody to get that out of the way relatively early," said Horner. "So everybody is settled going into the second half of the season and also, of course, as we head into new regulations in 2022. "He's done some preliminary work [for 2022] but that will ramp up in the second half of the year so he will be playing a very active role in that." Perez had a mixed first half of the season with a win at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but underperformed in the races leading up to the summer break. Horner is confident Perez will make progress in the remaining 11 rounds. "Obviously, qualifying is an important element, particularly with some of the tracks coming up," added Horner. "But I think, as he's getting more and more familiar with a car, that will naturally improve. "Obviously, we know he's had some bad luck on race days, and we just need clean clean Sundays as well." Red Bull trail Mercedes by 12 points in the Constructors' Championship whilst Perez is likely to play a crucial role in Verstappen's bid to become World Champion. Horner says maximising upcoming results as a team is a must for the title race. "We're just focusing on each event one by one," said Horner. "They come in thick and fast, and it's important that we get the most out of each weekend. Hopefully [we're] due a bit of good luck."
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