Red Bull slam “armchair specialists” criticism of Sergio Perez’s race engineer

Christian Horner has hit back at critics with “1% of the facts” who have put Sergio Perez’s race engineer under fire.

The Red Bull boss was made aware of criticism in Perez’s home country of Mexico, where this weekend’s grand prix takes place, for Hugh Bird.

Bird has been the voice in Perez’s ear during races since the driver joined Red Bull in 2021 but is seemingly the focus of critics in Mexico.

“Look, I mean, when you put yourself out there as a race engineer and you're the voice speaking to the driver, in today's world of digital media, everybody has an opinion,” Horner responded.

“Everybody has their own view on things.

“Now, I think Hugh does a super job. He's a really bright guy.

“He's grown up in the team. He's out there giving his best for his driver, for his team.

“And I think it's very harsh for people to judge and criticise from the outside when they have about 1% of the facts of what he's actually dealing with.

“The great thing about opening up everything in Formula 1 is the access that we now give.

“The downside is the amount of armchair specialists and experts that we get that it opens up to.

“Hugh Bird is a very talented engineer and an important part of our team, and I think any criticism of him is unfair.”

Scrutiny over Perez will only heighten after his terrible qualifying for his home race at the F1 Mexico City Grand Prix.

Having admitted his season so far was “terrible”, Perez qualified in 18th.

''Unfortunately, the hoped-for upswing has not happened,” Helmut Marko ominously told Sky Germany.

RB duo Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda are waiting in the wings if Red Bull lose faith in Perez.