Sergio Perez had a strong start to the 2023 season but entered a slump following the Miami GP. He failed to make it to Q3 in five consecutive races. Even though he made a comeback from there, the pressure that began falling on his shoulders increased tenfold. In fact, according to recent rumors, Red Bull was likely to cut out a part of Perez’s existing $10,000,000 salary. However, Helmut Marko has come ahead to snub it all.
De Telegraaf reported that the Austrian team would be legally able to reduce the Mexican driver‘s salary. His contract apparently had a clause that stated that Red Bull would be eligible to do so, if he found himself 125 points or more behind Max Verstappen.
It wasn’t the start of the weekend that I expected.
I’m still not 100% but I’m getting better. Today was very difficult to anticipate the track limits.
I had traffic on my last attempt and went straight into the last corner.
There’s still a long way to go!No fue el inicio al… pic.twitter.com/UF1u16BNKf
— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) June 30, 2023
Unfortunately, Perez, who is exactly 125 points behind after 12 rounds was seemingly on the verge of facing a pay cut. These rumors took over the F1 community, until Red Bull’s chief advisor Helmut Marko came forward to snub them.
Helmut Marko snubs Perez’s pay cut rumors
Helmut Marko has recently come forward to address Perez’s potential pay cut issue. Amidst speculation surrounding Perez’s future in the team, the 80-year-old said that the pay-cut reports were baseless and came out of thin air.
As he didn’t know where the allegations came from, the Austrian veteran added as per F1 Insider, “It’s completely out of thin air. The contracts are strictly regulated. There will be no pay cuts.”
At the double so far in 2023 💪💪 @SChecoPerez 🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/qQn12GjJ9d
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) August 9, 2023
Marko further added that he is happy about the fact that Verstappen and Perez have been leading the driver’s championship with 1-2 in the standings. Their performances in the first half of the season ensured that they put Red Bull number one in the constructors’ championship heading into the summer break.
Admittedly, the Red Bull veteran also emphasized how there are no expectations from the Guadalajara-born driver to match Verstappen. Let alone Perez, Marko believes nobody can match the mighty Dutchman this season.
Sergio Perez is still in danger, believes F1 expert
Even though Sergio Perez has a contract with Red Bull until the 2024 season, Dutch racer Tom Coronel believes that he is not safe. Coronel is of the opinion that not only in Red Bull but in Formula 1 as a whole, contracts aren’t taken seriously when a team considers sacking a driver.
According to Racingnews365, he said, “In the whole of Formula 1, a contract is toilet paper.” Admittedly this has come true in multiple cases off late. McLaren showed Daniel Ricciardo the exit door even though it cost the team a huge amount of money.
We had a great start, the important thing was to make sure we finished the car without damage and to score some good points.
The goal is to stay on the podium for the rest of the yearTuvimos un gran comienzo, lo importante fue asegurarnos de terminar el auto sin daños y sumar… pic.twitter.com/gnqeST67H3
— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) July 30, 2023
And the recent mid-season exit of Nyck de Vries from AlphaTauri can be regarded as one more harsh example of how the F1 can be a ruthless sport, despite there being contracts tying drivers to teams. Now with Ricciardo back in AlphaTauri, the warning bells are surely ringing in Perez’s camp.
Things are looking good for now for Perez with both Christian Horner and Marko happy. However, Red Bull will seemingly not waste a lot of time if they decide to get a stronger teammate for Verstappen. For this, Coronel feels that Ricciardo could come up and replace Perez in the prestigious Red Bull seat at that point.
