Perez’s victories in Saturday’s sprint race and Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix put the Mexican just six points behind his team-mate after the first four races of the 2023 season.

Horner stressed that the team was happy to see the two share the points, as it helped keep the two drivers away from other drivers.

He said strong performances from both drivers would help create a cushion, which would be useful if rivals improved their form and Red Bull’s cost-cap penalties began to affect development as the season progressed.

“It’s the two of them now,” Horner said of the title race. “There is a slight gap between the other fields, but there are still 19 races to go and five sprint races.

“There’s a ton of races to go through and the overall variance of the different tracks, so there could be an ebb and flow between the two of them.

“Reliability will be a key factor. We are more focused on building a cushion with the two drivers at the moment.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing

Photography: Red Bull Content Pool

“Because when we come back to Europe, I’m sure there will be quite an escalation. Of course, we’ve lost a little bit of development capacity this year, so that’s what we’re focused on – trying to close the gap.”

Horner made it clear that there is no team order from the Red Bull camp, and Verstappen and Perez will fight directly.

“There are six points between them after four races, so yes, they are both competitive drivers,” he said.

“They all want to win, that’s why they’re hired by the team. I think it depends on what they do on the track. They’re free to play today and they’ve been free all year so far.”

Asked if that would continue into the season, Horner added: “Yes, until the interests of the teams, if you compete with competitors, become greater than the interests of the drivers. But, for now, They are free to play.”

Horner revealed that ahead of the Baku race he reminded the pair of Verstappen’s infamous clash with then-teammate Daniel Ricciardo at the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

“I think 2018 is etched in the memories of everyone on this team,” he said. “That’s something we discussed in the briefing this morning, they’re free to play, but we don’t want to replay 2018.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB14 and Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing RB14 crash

Photography: Sutton Images

“They pushed each other as hard as they could and today was a good gap separating the two of them.”

Horner also praised Perez for adding another street race win to his resume, after the team won at several other makeshift venues, including Monaco, Singapore and Jeddah.

“Checo definitely lives up to his King of the Street moniker, or whatever his latest docuseries will be called,” Horner said.

“Obviously, he got a little lucky with the timing of the safety car. But at one point, after getting the lead, he built a lead of almost four seconds and took control of the race, so he took his chance and turned it into a great one. victory.

“You have Max Verstappen behind you. He wasn’t easy. I think he was able to build up a 3.7-second lead. It’s all thanks to Checo, he had a great race today.

“They were pushing each other. I think they were comparing the times when they touched the wall below the podium.

“But we let them go all the way, that’s always been the plan of the game.”