Christian horner names key difference between max verstappen and sergio perez

The pair are separated by what will soon be a record-breaking margin for the top two contenders in a World Championship fight with Verstappen now 226 points clear of the 33-year-old with

four races still to go this season. Checo clinched two wins in the opening four races this season but was soon overpowered by his now-three-time world champion team-mate. After 18 races,

Verstappen has 15 wins and 18 podium finishes to his name, while the Mexican is yet to add to his wins in Jeddah and Baku.  Discussing the differences between his two drivers, Horner said:

“I think it’s a huge element and with any sportsman that, mental strength always plays a key role. And I think there was a decisive moment this year, which was probably in Miami, where Checo

had, if you like, an open goal.  CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR WHATSAPP COMMUNITY TO BE THE FIRST TO RECEIVE BREAKING AND EXCLUSIVE F1 NEWS. “He’d won two races in Azerbaijan and Saudi, and you

could see his confidence was high. I think that Max, winning that race, having been caught out by a red flag in qualifying - starting down in ninth, and whatever lap it was that he took the

lead, within a very short period of time - I think mentally that was that was quite a brutal one for Checo to deal with. “And on top of that, then came Monaco, I think pretty much the next

race. And then things compound. And Max is just relentless, he’s then just hitting aces every race from there onwards.” With Perez’s form yet to recover since the summer break, rumours have

circulated regarding his short-term future with Red Bull. Despite being contracted with the team until the end of the 2024 season, it has been suggested that failure to bring home the team’s

first-ever one-two finish in the World Championship could lead to a premature departure. While the existence of such an ultimatum has been denied by the Red Bull hierarchy, if Perez is

under pressure to deliver a second-place finish then he was helped greatly by Lewis Hamilton’s misfortune at the previous two rounds in Qatar and Texas. The gap between the pair has now

widened to 39 points.