Red Bull certainly were in a celebratory mood after Max Verstappen secured his fourth consecutive world championship at the Las Vegas GP. However, with another failure for Sergio Perez on the other side of the garage, Helmut Marko’s spicy words have reminded the Red Bull employees of an unfortunate reality.
Marko stated how the Austrian outfit not winning the Constructors’ title this season means that their employees won’t get their bonuses, as it depends on their position in the standings.
“We have to have two drivers who finish in the points. Max is more than 200 points ahead of Sergio. For now, the main thing was to win the championship for Max but for our employees, it is a disappointment because they will not receive their bonuses, as they depend on our position in the constructors’ championship”, the 81-year-old said.
Helmut Marko: “We have to have two drivers who finish in the points. Max is more than 200 points ahead of Sergio”
“For now the main thing was to win the championship for Max but for our employees it is a disappointment because they will not receive their bonuses, as they… pic.twitter.com/hV3t7N7RNf
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) November 24, 2024
Perez’s underperformance has been one of the major factors that have restricted Red Bull from maintaining their Constructors’ championship lead. Since the Chinese GP — the fifth race of the season — the Mexican hasn’t scored a single podium, whereas Verstappen has won three Grands Prix besides his multiple podiums amid Red Bull’s struggles with the RB20.
Currently, the Milton Keynes outfit is in third place, 53 points behind McLaren, who could win their first Constructors’ title since 1998. So, the bonuses that Red Bull have been paying their employees for the last two seasons could be given at Woking.
As Marko highlighted, Perez’s lack of results will certainly be under the scanner at Red Bull after the season concludes. It would be a strange scenario to see the #11 driver finish P8 in the drivers’ standings, while his teammate has clinched the drivers’ championship with two race weekends remaining.
Red Bull may have to make the stern call on Perez
Despite the reports of Perez retaining his seat for 2025, Red Bull’s top brass have made stern comments demanding the 34-year-old to pull his socks up. Besides Marko, even team principal Christian Horner has seconded the need for both of their drivers to score points and be in the fight at the front.
Verstappen undoubtedly has done so, but Perez’s poor run of form may exhaust Horner and Marko’s patience. With the team likely to finish P3 in the Constructors’ standings, they may make some tough decisions despite the Mexican having a valid contract for next season.
But the crucial aspect they need to consider is who can be a viable and better alternative to Perez. Liam Lawson is an option after Red Bull roped him in at RB to replace Daniel Ricciardo since the US GP. Many believe that they are vetting the Kiwi driver to potentially replace Perez in 2025.
However, there are also speculations of Franco Colapinto being in the mix for a seat at Red Bull, as Horner recently visited Williams’ motorhome. This puts two young options at the Austrian team’s disposal to replace 34-year-old Perez who is on the wane.
