Sergio Perez will remain in the second Red Bull seat for 2025 and beyond, according to Helmut Marko, thanks to the support of Max Verstappen and his father, Jos Verstappen. Despite having a difficult season debut, the Mexican driver extended his contract for a number of years before to the race in Canada. For the 2021 campaign, Perez was selected by Red Bull to start at Milton Keynes in place of the underperforming Alex Albon. Still, there’s been a noticeable increase in the distance between him and teammate Verstappen over time.
Less than half of Verstappen’s points were earned by Perez in 2023, the year the Dutchman won his third World Championship. Ten races later, in 2024, the difference has grown as Perez has not finished higher than sixth. He behind his colleague by more than a hundred points in the standings heading into the British Grand Prix. He is currently ranked fifth.
Despite his difficulties, Perez managed to secure a new contract. Carlos Sainz, Yuki Tsunoda, and Daniel Ricciardo tried their hardest, but Red Bull decided to stick with the Mexican through 2025—and possibly 2026 if both sides are happy. Verstappen was also involved in the choice.
According to Marko, who was speaking to Viaplay about the Verstappens’ involvement in Perez’s decision, “They wouldn’t have agreed with every team-mate,” and “Max wants a nice environment in which he can work.” In technical terms, he and Perez are on par. The title is no longer a dream for Sergio. They will all be defeated regardless of who is seated next to Max.
But Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal, still believes in his man, even though his performances don’t seem to be getting better. “That was warranted by Checo’s role on the team and his contributions.” It goes without saying that there is constant pressure to perform. We will never get into the specifics of contracts, therefore that is irrelevant. Checo is aware that the industry is under pressure, he said. Having won races with the other driver in a car, he is aware of the scrutiny. It is the Formula One car. If a teammate isn’t performing up to par, pressure will naturally mount.
It’s easy to lose your mind when the media starts asking questions. Over the past four years, Checo has impressed me by consistently rebounding from times when the pressure is very high, as it is right now. He’ll need to work hard to do that.”