Pérez joined Red Bull for the 2021 season, and although he was able to score a win in Azerbaijan, he made no secret of his problems adapting to the philosophy of the car that was designed to suit team-mate Verstappen .
Red Bull, with the new 2022 rules, managed to alleviate many of the characteristics of the RB16B car that made adapting to it so difficult.
That has helped Pérez to his best start to an F1 season, taking pole position in Saudi Arabia and finishing second in both Australia and Emilia Romagna .
Pérez was also in contention for victory in Saudi Arabia before a safety car dropped him to fourth place. He is third in the championship, behind only the big contenders, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen.
Team principal Horner praised Pérez for “doing a great job” in the first part of the world championship, noting that he was more comfortable with this year’s RB18 than with its predecessor.
“He’s driving at a very high level,” Horner said before the Miami Grand Prix.
“He feels more comfortable in the team this year. I think the car suits him better this year. This one doesn’t have some of the quirks that the previous three cars probably had.”
“And we’re happy with the job he’s doing.”
Horner said Red Bull had “only seen a sample of four races” yet, making it “early” to start thinking about plans for the future with Perez.
“But everyone within the team is very satisfied with the work that Checo continues to do,” added Horner.
Pérez signed for Red Bull for the 2021 season as the first driver to join from outside his own junior project since Mark Webber in 2007, becoming Max Verstappen’s fourth team-mate in four seasons.
Asked in Miami if he had already started talking to Red Bull about a new deal for 2023, Perez replied: “We started talking, but we’re not in a hurry to sign something soon.”
