Red Bull won’t be making any changes for the remainder of the 2024 season. Their team meeting earlier this week concluded with the confirmation that Sergio Perez would continue with them and that Daniel Ricciardo would remain at RB. The same order, however, cannot be guaranteed for 2025.
According to Helmut Marko, “The cards will be reshuffled” next year. This means that even though Perez has now got a chance to redeem himself in the last 10 races of 2024, he will have to put in his best efforts to get results that will convince Marko and Red Bull to retain him even next year.
Sergio Perez Last 7 Races Highlights
Man in form? Worthy of the Red Bull seat?
— (@fawteefaw) July 29, 2024
Ricciardo, meanwhile, will be disappointed. After the Belgian GP, he looked happy which many felt was down to the fact that he thought he would join Max Verstappen at Red Bull. Ricciardo was spotted leaving the paddock with Verstappen’s helmet in his hand, and a smile on his face.
But all is not over for him either. Marko’s comments suggest that if Ricciardo has a strong finish to the 2024 campaign, he could get a shot at Red Bull again. For that, Perez has to underperform massively because his presence in Red Bull is of huge commercial importance.
Why Red Bull and F1 consider Perez important?
Christian Horner wanted Ricciardo in the Red Bull seat. However, multiple sources, including Motorsport, revealed that Liberty Media (owners of F1) asked the Milton-Keynes-based team to hold on to Perez.
The 34-year-old is immensely popular in his home country – Mexico – and all of Latin America. And with the Mexican GP still remaining, Perez’s dismissal could lead to a fall in ticket and merchandise sales.
As such, if Perez shows signs of improvement, it is all but certain that he will be at Red Bull in 2025 as well. What this decision also does is, it puts a question mark over Liam Lawson‘s future.
The New Zealander was tipped to replace Ricciardo at RB, had the Honey Badger left for Red Bull. Now, Lawson has to wait and see if either Ricciardo or Yuki Tsunoda depart RB, or he could head elsewhere to find a seat for the upcoming campaign.
