Perez had arrived in Miami just six points back from Verstappen in the drivers’ standings and with a 2-2 record for GP race wins following his triumph in Jeddah and his Baku victory double in the first sprint weekend of the season.
The Mexican driver’s chances of taking the lead in the standings were then greatly enhanced in the first of three 2023 races in the USA when Verstappen’s early Q3 mistake in Miami qualifying was compounded by Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc crashing on the final runs and stopping anyone improving. That meant Perez qualified on pole and Verstappen languished in ninth.
But the next day, Verstappen had catapulted himself into victory contention with a serene rise on a contra-strategy compared to the initial leader in the early stages, then passed Perez shortly after making his sole pitstop in the race’s second half.
“The first four or five races he was very, very strong,” Horner said of Perez in an exclusive interview with Motorsport.com. “And it was really after Miami that I think that was a big, psychological blow for him – losing that race.
“Then off the back of that, Monaco Q1, making a mistake.
“You know, confidence is such a vital thing in this sport and I think that that momentum that he built up – because his races in Saudi and Azerbaijan were truly outstanding – [was hit]. I mean, in Azerbaijan he had the clean sweep with a sprint win and the grand prix itself.
“So, by the time we headed back into Europe, it started to disintegrate for him. And then there was sort of peaks and troughs.
“I mean he drove, for example, a brilliant race in Monza, made a great call in Zandvoort in the wet, then unfortunately mistakes started to creep in as he put more pressure on himself.
“But what was good to see is him pick his form up again at the end of the season.
“And, of course, to achieve second place in the championship – something he's never done, something we've never done – to achieve a 1-2 finish.”
