Horner denies ulterior motives at Red Bull: 'Has nothing to do with Perez'

Horner stresses importance of Perez turnaround: 'We keep losing points'

Red Bull, meanwhile, has reiterated their confidence in Perez with the announcement that the Mexican will retain his Formula 1 seat alongside Max Verstappen for the time being. So there is no question of a replacement after the summer break, but it is far from certain that Perez - despite his new contract - will continue to drive for the team in 2025. The driver will, however, get more time to find his old form again.

During the filming day at Imola, Ricciardo, Tsunoda and Lawson will cover kilometres in the VCARB from the current F1 season. This involves using a special Pirelli compound intended for demonstration purposes and thus not comparable to the tyres used in race weekends. Yet stories surfaced that Red Bull would use the occasion to compare the performances of their drivers - particularly Ricciardo and Lawson.

Horner denies ulterior motives Red Bull at VCARB filming day

Horner, however, firmly denies that this is the case. "It's a filming day, so they'll be filming, so it's all about content," the Red Bull team boss replied to a question from GPblog. "You can do 200km in the current car, so we'll both be doing plenty of filming."

The 50-year-old Briton stressed that Perez has the support of the entire team and that he is confident he can regain his old form, as he showed at the start of the current F1 season. "The priority is to support Checo and to understand what he needs. We all want him to turn it around. We all want to see him deliver," Horner continued.

Perez will stay at Red Bull for now

A meeting was scheduled at the Austrian formation on Monday. Horner stressed that it was not an emergency meeting about Perez but that several topics would be discussed. "We always do [that] going into the summer break," he explained. It has since become clear that Perez will keep his seat for the time being and that Ricciardo also does not need to worry yet.

As far as Horner is concerned, the focus is, therefore, on the constructors' championship. "So for us, extending the lead, going into the summer break for Max will give him a better rest. I think for us, the focus is on the constructors. We've seen another seven or eight points taken off us again today. We need to turn that around coming out of the break in Zandvoort," concluded the Red Bull team boss.