Red Bull's Christian Horner happy with rivalry between Sergio Perez, Max Verstappen

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner s flanked by drivers, Sergio Perez (left) and Max Verstappen (right)

Sergio Perez will start from the pole at the Miami Grand Prix, where he has been given clearance to race for both the win and the championship. Perez trails Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen by just six points in the championship standings and team boss Christian Horner has vowed to allow the drivers to race for the title. Verstappen, the two-time reigning F1 champion, and Perez each have two wins this year as Red Bull has swept all four races and finished 1-2 three times.

Perez in his Red Bull Racing car during qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix. Pics/AFP

The pole for Perez was the third of his career, but the other two were on the street circuit at Jeddah. Perez won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and will try to make it two straight Sunday. "Checo! Checo! Checo!" the crowd chanted for Perez while waving Mexican flags. He said the Saturday qualifying effort was a massive turnaround after he had struggled through all three practice sessions. "Everything came more alive and we were just playing with the tools and we put the lap in that we needed," Perez said before explaining why he was having such a tough weekend. "Everything wasn't coming together. It was one of those weekends where we were struggling with balance, confidence, this tarmac is sensitive to temperatures."

Meanwhile, Horner was a happy man given the rivalry in the team: "I think that's a luxury problem, first of all. Any team principal in the pit late would hope to have that issue," he said. Horner also praised Perez's start to the season. "Checo's had a fantastic start to the season. He's started the season stronger than ever" said Horner, adding that Red Bull will allow Perez to challenge two-time champ Verstappen. "The key thing is to ensure that paranoia doesn't creep in and that both drivers are treated equally. You go to pains to provide equality, to the point of who drives out the garage first each weekend, it alternates. It even alternates in the debrief who talks first," Horner said.

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