Reports suggested Red Bull had set a deadline until the Belgian GP for Sergio Perez to prove his worth. However, the Mexican driver failed to make an impact by finishing the race P8 despite starting in P2. Despite him inheriting P7, owing to George Russell’s disqualification, it was clearly not an ideal result.
This led to speculations once again raging over his future with the team, with many suggesting an end of the road for him before the end of the summer break. However, Red Bull did not let those rumors run wild for long.
The Austrian outfit announced Perez’s stay for the entirety of the season. They then also maintained the status quo with Daniel Ricciardo.
The announcement of retaining Perez came as a surprise but it has found its origins. As per F1-Insider, Red Bull’s decision may have been influenced by Formula 1 commercial rights holder Liberty Media.
The media conglomerate reportedly asked the reigning champions to reconsider their decision to sack Perez, which was inevitable. The reason finds its origins in Perez’s commercial value, which will particularly shine during the Mexican GP weekend.
The report states, “What leaked out behind the scenes: Formula 1 rights holder Liberty Media asked Red Bull to reconsider the Perez dismissal. They feared a huge drop in revenue at the Mexican GP on October 27 without national hero Perez.”
[F1 Insider] “Formula 1 rights holder Liberty Media asked Red Bull to reconsider the Perez dismissal”
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As far as Helmut Marko goes, he cleared, “Perez is staying. We want to get him back to his old form. Ricciardo is staying too. Nothing will change.” The Australian may have retained his seat for the rest of the season but he needs to show value for a stay in 2025. And the way Marko wants to run the team, it’s all or nothing for Ricciardo.
Ricciardo either gets the sack or the Red Bull seat
Ricciardo walked into the 2024 season with immense promise. Poised to take over Perez’s Red Bull seat, the Honey Badger was up for the task. However, strong performances were hard to come by and it was not all up to the VCARB car.
That is because Yuki Tsunoda managed to churn out some crucial points for the team and he did it consistently. Resultantly, the Japanese driver is currently 12th in the standings with 22 points to his name.
That number is 10 more than what Ricciardo has scored so far this year. Marko, meanwhile, has reportedly grown tired of Ricciardo’s inconsistent performances and wants the team to switch back to its old philosophy.
As per that philosophy, VCARB needs to go back to grooming young talent to ultimately drive for Red Bull. Ricciardo, at 35, does not fit the description but, for the time being, has protection from Christian Horner.
There is, however, only so much the Red Bull team principal can do for the underfiring Australian. Ricciardo, therefore, needs to score some points consistently to either take over Perez’s seat in 2025 or make way for the likes of 22-year-old Liam Lawson.
