Sergio Perez will enter the 2024 season with his future with Red Bull in serious doubt. This comes after the Mexican endured a series of underwhelming performances last season. Now, adding fuel to the speculation, his team principal, Christian Horner states that the coveted second Red Bull seat is Perez’s to lose.
With Perez moving into the last year of his Red Bull contract, Horner told Speedcafe.com,
“It’s Checo’s seat to lose. He’s the incumbent of that seat, and a lot will depend on how next season goes for him.”
Horner, sobre el futuro de Pérez:
“Tenemos muchas opciones y es Checo quien puede perder el asiento”
“Él es a quien respaldamos, él es nuestro piloto para 2024 y si hace un gran trabajo el año que viene, no hay razón por lo que no le extendamos hasta 2025”
[@SoyMotor] #F1 pic.twitter.com/uuLXlSPrcz
— ElReyGuiri (@ElReyGuiri) December 27, 2023
The odds of Perez losing out on that seat for 2025 seems more likely, if 2023 is anything to go by. The Guadalajara born driver suffered a torrid season of racing at the helm of the RB19. While his teammate, Max Verstappen dominated in the car, Perez finished a staggering 290 points adrift in 2nd. On more than more occasion, Perez even struggled to qualify into Q3, with his average grid slot being a lowly 9th.
In this background, Horner also spoke about Perez’s potential replacements. While the team are confident they have a strong pool of drivers within the Red Bull family, the Briton has not ruled out the possibility of a driver market acquisition when he admitted, “obviously outside of the group, there’s been significant interest as well.”
Perez has to be at his absolute best in 2024. While the RB19’s supremacy ensured the Bulls won everything with ease despite Perez’s fumbles, 2024 may not grant such an advantage. Many teams like Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren are tipped to substantially close the gap, meaning Perez will have to be firing on all cylinders to ensure his team retains its crown.
2024 could be the year when Red Bull finally yield the top spot to their rivals
In 2023, Red Bull had a clear advantage over the field. This resulted in them winning 21 out of the 22 races, whilst sealing P1 in the constructors’ and a 1-2 in the driver’s standings to round off a historic year for the team in the sport.
However, in 2024, their rivals are expected to catch up to them, and close the gap further. McLaren substantially claw back performance and on occasion, in the latter half of the season, gave the Milton-Keynes-based outfit a headache.
George Russell says Mercedes are “confident” in the W15 and think they can catch Red Bull, but believes Red Bull will start 2024 on top:
“I certainly think we’re in a better place now than we were 12 months ago.”
“We’ve been working towards our new car concept for a number of… pic.twitter.com/0JJgzrnUcK
— Mercedes-AMG F1 News (@MercedesNewsUK) January 4, 2024
Naturally, with the margin for error being very less in 2024, the onus on Perez would be higher than ever. He will have to match Verstappen, whilst also ensuring he keeps the competition behind him. If he fails to fulfil his objectives and finishes anything below 2nd in the standings, Red Bull will be tempted to part ways and look to bring on a more formidable teammate, for Verstappen.
