With Red Bull dominating Formula 1, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez find themselves locked in a tight battle for the Drivers’ Championship.
Out of five races, Verstappen has taken three Grand Prix victories, while Sergio Perez has claimed two, as well as the Sprint race in Baku.
Having seen Red Bull take four 1-2 finishes this season, Verstappen holds a narrow 14 point lead over the Mexican in the Drivers’ Standings.
As Verstappen has secured two world championships and Perez remains without a title, the Dutchman has often been seen as the number one driver at the team.
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“Of course, you end up sometimes with conflict between your drivers,” Horner told the Extraordinary Tales with Seb Coe podcast.
“But I think the most important thing as a team is to play with a straight bat, to treat them equally. We don’t have a number one driver.
“Our number one driver is whoever is ahead on the circuit, and you earn that by what you do on the circuit, not through a contract. And that’s the way we’ve always operated.”
Time will tell which Red Bull racer can take the ‘number one’ driver crown this season, as they compete in equal machinery.
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The RB19 is far ahead of the rest of the field, leaving them to fight it out for the title, with Verstappen 44 points ahead and Perez 30 points clear of the nearest non-Red Bull driver.
Heading into Monaco, Perez will be looking to close the gap on his rival, repeating the success he enjoyed last year around the iconic street circuit.
Monaco plays perfectly into Perez’s hands, with the Mexican having secured all of his victories for Red Bull on street tracks.