After months of speculation, Red Bull ended the question marks over their second driver for 2025 with Sergio Perez’s extension. Surprisingly, the Mexican driver has got his way with a new two-year contract. While many are happy for Perez, there is some chatter about this extension being a marketing-driven move by Red Bull. Now, Helmut Marko has given his perspective on the same. He explained why Red Bull decided to retain Perez, both from a marketing and sporting sense perspective.
According to the Austrian website Kleine Zeitung, Marko stated, “We want to ensure continuity and both drivers get on really well. There are simply no conflicts.” This is the sporting side of it that makes Red Bull feel that Perez is the perfect teammate for Max Verstappen.
However, the 81-year-old advisor also mentioned how the Mexican’s appeal in his home country and its neighbors is a strong factor they cannot ignore from a marketing perspective. Marko stated,
“Checo’ is also incredibly popular in Latin America. We sell more merchandise of his there than of Verstappen and when he’s on his period, he’s almost unbeatable.”
There are some doubts about whether this is a two-year deal at the outset, or has Red Bull kept a 1+1 year option deal, to reassess Perez’s form for 2026. For now, it seems like the former and that the #11 driver’s marketing and sponsor appeal played a key role in him securing the deal.
However, Marko’s initial comments also make sense from a stability point of view. Barring a few disagreements in 2022, Perez and Verstappen have got along incredibly well as teammates.
On top of that, for Red Bull, having the 34-year-old in their second car makes Verstappen their clear leader and there is less chance of Checo taking points away from the Dutchman. While there is some noise about Perez’s extension being a move to keep Verstappen happy, the Mexican is blocking out such thoughts for his sake.
Sergio Perez is ‘happy’ with what he has achieved at Red Bull
Perez has been in a much better place in 2024, with the kind of performances he has shown. While the past two races in Imola and Monaco were not great for him, his race pace and consistency have improved relative to Verstappen.
That could have been the primary reason why Red Bull decided to stick with Perez for another two years. However, as many believe that the extension is to keep Verstappen happy, Perez diplomatically dodged this notion during the Canadian GP Thursday presser.
The #11 driver stated, “It’s something that’s been with every driver since we got into the sport. I think the best thing to do is to close my eyes and focus on my job, do the best for myself and my career.”
He cited how everyone is entitled to have their “opinion”. However, the 34-year-old knows he has contributed at crucial times for Red Bull. Perez concluded, “I’m happy with what I have achieved”.
Now, that Perez has sorted his future out, he would want to rediscover his form of the opening few races of the 2024 season and get back to registering regular podiums. With the championship fight between the top three teams getting closer, the Mexican needs to justify Red Bull’s decision to retain him.
