Red Bull shocked the entire paddock recently when they confirmed they had decided to retain Sergio Perez for the remainder of the 2024 season. F1 presenter Lawrence Barretto and the hosts of the Nailing the Apex podcast believe that the Milton Keynes-based outfit made such a decision because of the lessons they learned from their past mistakes.
According to Barretto, Red Bull has learned that it takes more time and effort to get a driver up to speed when they sign someone new than what it takes to help their current driver get out of a slump. As a result, Red Bull decided to retain Perez than sign someone like Daniel Ricciardo, who many believe was the favorite to get the Mexican’s seat.
Christian Horner said in front of hundreds of employees at the Red Bull HQ:
“Checo is still a Red Bull Racing driver, despite all the speculation as of late. We look forward to seeing him perform on circuits where he has done well before.”
[https://t.co/QJICsjgzeZ] pic.twitter.com/2Am13b1Hbr
— checo news (@scheconews) July 29, 2024
With the Constructors’ Championship on the line this season, it would be a huge risk to replace Perez with Ricciardo since the Australian has no experience of driving the RB20. However, it is also pertinent to note that there have been other reports that claimed that the only reason Red Bull retained Perez was because of Liberty Media’s intervention.
Red Bull have a tough decision to make by the end of the 2024 season
While Perez has been retained at least till the end of the 2024 season, Red Bull needs to make a decision about their 2025 line-up soon. Currently, the team has four drivers in contention for virtually three seats (two at their sister team Visa Cash App RB, and one on the main team).
Time to re-group as a team, but also to have some rest with our families.
There’s still a long championship ahead, so we’re going to work together to get back where we belong.Es hora de reagruparnos como equipo, pero también de descansar un poco con nuestras familias.
Queda un… pic.twitter.com/ZruWLppEkh— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) July 28, 2024
Hence, Barretto feels that one of the four, that is Ricciardo, Perez, Liam Lawson, or Yuki Tsunoda, will leave the Red Bull stable at the end of 2024. Team advisor Helmut Marko has himself admitted that the Milton Keynes-based outfit will evaluate its options for 2025 and beyond, hinting at a possible driver line-up shuffle soon.
