There’s still haze hovering over who will be Max Verstappen’s teammate next year as Red Bull has kept Sergio Perez’s option open alongside maintaining links with multiple drivers. Perez is in the last year of his current two-year contract. Although if the Milton Keynes team decides to give him an extension just in case, he would not get a two-year contract anyway, revealed Helmut Marko.
The Austrian advisor recently opened up that the team is not ready to discuss contractual talks so early in the season. In case of any premature developments, the Mexican driver would only get a one-year extension. Marko, explaining the same revealed that complacency is the primary reason behind such a decision.
The 80-year-old said as per RacingNews365, “All options are open, but at the moment our team (including Perez, ed.) is functioning well If we give him a two-year contract, there is a risk that he will slacken off.”
Marko’s expectation about Perez slacking off is not unfounded after the #11 driver’s poor run of form in mid-2023. This was after the 34-year-old got a two-year deal [2023 and 2024] with the defending champions back in 2022.
Despite having dominant cars underneath him, Perez barely managed to get the best out of them at times and lacked the edge needed amid a close competition scene. Given how the top teams such as Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren have two strong drivers in their line-up, the former Force India driver could become a weak link for them instead.
Nevertheless, Red Bull still has options open to replace Perez next season. While Marko snubbed Sebastian Vettel and Alex Albon’s rumors as potential replacement options, drivers like Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso are still free agents for 2025.
Can Sergio Perez confirm his stay in Red Bull?
Sergio Perez’s stay at Red Bull in the last three years hasn’t been convincing enough for a contract extension this early. Despite having a competitive car in his first year in 2021, Perez failed to help the team win the Constructors’ Championship. In 2022, he could not finish in P2 ahead of Charles Leclerc to give Red Bull a coveted 1-2 in the championship.
Finally, in 2023, the Mexican driver finished the season in P2, that too by claiming less [285 points] than half of what Max Verstappen amassed. [575]. Therefore, he not only failed to live up to his expectations but also struggled to do the bare minimum on certain occasions.
Furthermore, the former Racing Point driver has often failed to shine on the occasions and lead the team, when Verstappen faltered. This puts him in a really shaky place despite his consistency coming into 2024.
This brings two talented drivers into the scene who can ideally replace Perez at Milton Keynes – Carlos Sainz and Yuki Tsunoda. The Spanish driver is out of a seat for next season and Red Bull might take the chance to put him against his former Toro Rosso teammate Verstappen once again to bolster their lineup.
On the other hand, Tsunoda has been in a fiery form off late at RB, with seven points in his bag after four races. Therefore, the Austrian team is unlikely to overlook the Japanese dynamo. Nonetheless, nothing is expected to be finalized for 2025 until the summer break in August.
