Christian Horner admits was “a little bit crazy” Sergio Perez was even in the driver market after Red Bull signed him for 2021.
Following months of speculation, it was finally confirmed last week that the Mexican would replace Alex Albon next season on an initial one year deal.
This after Albon struggled to establish himself at the level Red Bull wanted alongside Max Verstappen in the 26 races he had at the team.
“I can’t lie guys, it hurts. I gave it everything out there, but it wasn’t quite enough,” Albon wrote on Instagram, reacting to his demotion to reserve driver.
“I want to say a huge thank you to all of you that supported me throughout this year, especially my Thai fans. With all the different opinions out there, I always had you guys to push me through it.
“I’m not giving up, I’ve poured my life into this and I won’t let it stop here. I have more to give and my focus is getting back for 2022 and to wave the Thai flag again!”
In signing Perez, Red Bull has taken on a driver not from their stable for the first time since 2007, when Mark Webber joined from Williams.
And explaining that decision, Horner again pointed to Checo’s record this season, with a win and a second en route to fourth in the Drivers’ Championship.
“There was no candidate on the junior program that was suitable,” he said.
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“It was impossible to ignore Sergio’s performance this year. I think he’s driven a great campaign. He’s been truly impressive, particularly in the second half of the season, and he’s earned the seat.
“We want to field the strongest team we can to take the fight to Mercedes, and you’ve got to do that with both cars.
“I think Sergio has got the necessary amount of experience, brings a wealth of knowledge to the team as well, and I think will be a good teammate for Max next year.”
Perez’s availability though only came about after Racing Point decided to sign Sebastian Vettel for their new era as Aston Martin from 2021.
“It’s remarkable and, I mean, circumstances are a little crazy, aren’t they?” the Red Bull boss added.
“Nico Hulkenberg is another capable driver that should really have a seat in F1.
“But it was our good fortune that he [Perez] didn’t have a seat and that allowed us the time, without him having any other options that he could pursue as a race seat, to fulfil the season with Alex before making a decision.”
In further comments, Horner had suggested that Perez was the only “serious” option considered despite both Hulkenberg and also Vettel was mentioned during the year.
However, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko would contradict the team boss…
“Hulkenberg was definitely a serious candidate,” he said via F1Insider.com. “We carefully analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of the three candidates Alexander Albon, Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg.
“In the end, only one thing was decisive for Perez towards Hüukenberg: He was able to bring most of the knowledge about the Mercedes engine with him. Unfortunately, Nico had too few appearances this season.”