Perez ‘headspin’ making Red Bull ‘desperate’ - Horner

Christian Horner has shed further light on the Sergio Perez situation at Red Bull, with the under-fire driver in danger of losing his seat.

It is only a month-and-a-half since the six-time grand prix winner penned an extension with the constructors' champions, which could see him stay with the team until at least the end of 2026.

However, his form has dipped considerably after a strong start to the current season. Those early performances were part of the justification for Red Bull handing him a new contract so soon into the year.

The Mexican driver finished FP2 at the Hungarian Grand Prix in fourth-place, after going 11th-fastest in the weekend-opening practice session at the Hungaroring.

Horner was quick to point out that it was likely Perez's best Friday since the Chinese Grand Prix, in early April, as well as highlighting how upgrades to the RB20 will have hopefully remedied some of the "knife-edge" characteristics the 34-year-old driver has struggled with of late.

However, the Red Bull team principal did not shy away from underlining how badly the Milton Keynes squad needs Perez to rekindle his early-season form.

"We all want Checo [Sergio Perez] to realise the potential that he did in the first four or five races, and we know he's capable of that and that's why we took up the option early on him for next year to try and settle him," the 50-year-old told Sky Sports F1.

"I think he's been in a bit of a headspin the last the last few races, but hopefully today were the signs that he's coming out of that - and the team are working very hard with him to support him and make sure that he does re-find his form, because we desperately need it."

Horner and Perez share 'open relationship'

Over the past six rounds heading into the weekend near Budapest, Perez has scored a mere 15 points. Meanwhile, team-mate Max Verstappen has claimed 119 over that period.

The disparity in championship contributions between the two has led to many questioning Red Bull's decision to retain Perez - and fed speculation that he could be removed from his race seat during the summer break.

The Mexican's contract is a 1+1 deal, so he is theoretically set to be with the team until at least the end of the 2025 F1 season. 

However, there are performance-based clauses in his deal, and RacingNews365 understands that one of those stipulations is that he is no more than 100 points behind Verstappen after the Belgian Grand Prix.

He is currently 37 point adrift of that target, with just 52 available over the next two rounds. Therefore, Perez would need to sweep both weekends and hope Verstappen scores no more than 15 points himself.

Despite that threat looming over the 34-year-old, Horner insists the pair enjoy an "open relationship" with one another, revealing he spoke to Perez at his home to establish the root of his current lack of form.

"We have a really open relationship," the Red Bull team principal said. "I sat down with him in the kitchen at my house and said 'come on, was it was going on? Is it something, is there something else is it?' And he was like 'no, I think I'm just overthinking things a bit too much'.

"I think almost ignoring what's going on on the other side of the garage will do him a favour, which is the approach that he's taking now, just focusing on his own performance."