“First of all, we’ve won nine Grands Prix this year to five of any other team,” Horner said when asked about the Mexican driver. “Now, all of those nine have come from Max [Verstappen], whereas every other team has split between two drivers.

“And I think to be third – we’ve still got half a chance of second but it’s a massively long shot – we are out of the constructors’ and that’s very frustrating because that’s obviously where the financial revenues are distributed from.

“Now, it does give us more wind tunnel time if you look it glass half full with the new regulations coming in ’26. It does give us more wind tunnel time to accommodate those new regs.”

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That glass half full viewpoint isn’t one that will necessarily keep Perez with the team however, the Mexican having last finished in the top four of a race all the way back in Miami and facing constant pressure through the year.

The RB20 has been a handful to drive, and certainly hasn’t been the class of the field all season, but Perez’s results are still in stark contrast to the consistent delivery of Verstappen.