Mexican driver Sergio Perez in the final year of his contract with Red Bull.
Since Sergio Perez is getting ready for what is likely to be his final season with the team, Red Bull director Helmut Marko has ruled out connections to two drivers. The current Constructors’ champions, Perez, 34, is in the fourth and final year of his contract; he has not yet received an offer for an extension.
The previous season, the Mexican placed second in the drivers’ standings but was a massive 290 points behind teammate Max Verstappen. That was in spite of Perez’s declaration that the Championship race would be a two-way fight and his victories in two of the first four Grand Prix races.
However, he was unable to win any of the eighteen races that followed; the only thing keeping Red Bull from making a complete sweep of the races was a victory by Carlos Sainz in Singapore. And it’s the Spaniard who has been heavily tipped to succeed Perez in 2025, when he steps down from his Ferrari seat to make room for Lewis Hamilton.
Marko, who is in charge of the Red Bull Driver Development program, claims that team managers will deliberate before making a final choice, which could ruin the 29-year-old’schancesof making a move: He told Motorsport-Total that Sainz “probably wants to make a decision sooner than we do.”
Alex Albon, who drove beside Verstappen in 2019 and 2020, has also been connected to a comeback. However, Marko dismissed the British driver as well, pointing to his employment at Williams: “Albon is not a problem for us; he has a contract until 2025,” the 80-year-old continued.
Furthermore, the Austrian declined to totally rule out Perez signing a new contract. However, a lot will depend on how he does in 2024; Marko seemed to indicate that he had to compete constantly throughout the season in order to maintain his spot.
“His contract expires in 2024. He has the final say on it. We can discuss an additional extension with ease if he continues to drive in the same manner as he finished the previous races.
Tensions have been high in the Red Bull garage, though, since a well-publicized altercation between Perez and Verstappen in 2022, during which the Dutchman disobeyed team orders to give up a spot to his partner at the Brazilian Grand Prix. At the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, Verstappen’s father Jos blanked Perez as he celebrated winning the race, displaying even more animosity.
Before joining Red Bull, Perez raced for McLaren, Force India, and Racing Point. He made his F1 debut in 2011 with Sauber. In his first two seasons with the team, he placed fourth and third, but his best career campaign came in the previous season.
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