Sergio Perez reportedly has two performance clauses in the new Red Bull contract he signed earlier this season, whose non-fulfillment would give the team every right to terminate his deal. Now, addressing the same, Helmut Marko has given Perez a deadline of less than 20 days to try and save his place at the Milton-Keynes-based outfit.
The first clause in Perez’s contract allows Red Bull to replace him if he’s over 100 points behind Max Verstappen. The second clause meanwhile, requires him to be within five places of the Dutchman in the Drivers’ Standings. Currently, Perez is 137 points short of his target and is in P6 whereas Verstappen is in P1 in the table.
Speaking to GrandPrix 247 in a recent interview, Marko opined on these clauses added to Perez’s contract. The 81-year-old confirmed that Perez is under threat and that they would assess his situation once the summer break begins.
“All Formula 1 contracts have exit clauses, most of them related to performance or let’s say for the top drivers. As I mentioned before, we will have an evaluation during the summer break and then we will make a decision.”
| Sergio Perez’s Red Bull seat is at risk, confirms Helmut Marko.
“We will have an evaluation during the summer break.”https://t.co/dyBqAECuEf
— formularacers (@formularacers_) July 11, 2024
Perez cannot afford to slip up anymore. His slump in form has been worse than witnessed in 2023, and Red Bull cannot ask Verstappen to defend the Constructors’ Title anymore single-handedly. In case Perez does get sacked, Red Bull has a ready replacement in Liam Lawson, gearing up to realize his F1 dream.
Marko addresses the possibility of Lawson replacing Perez
Lawson left a lasting impression on the F1 paddock when he filled in as Daniel Ricciardo‘s replacement for five races in 2023. With Perez’s underperformances, Lawson becomes the favorite to get a V-CARB seat (Red Bull’s sister team). Meanwhile, Ricciardo is poised to replace Perez at Red Bull.
However, the team has other drivers to consider.
EXCLUSIVE: Liam Lawson is set to test Red Bull’s RB20 #F1 car at Silverstone next week, Autosport has learned, as the rumor mill intensifies over Sergio Perez’s future at the team
FULL STORY ✍️: https://t.co/2YcaZCq4d0 pic.twitter.com/vWwQGmdT2t
— Autosport (@autosport) July 6, 2024
Lawson is one of the stars in the mix to get a Red Bull seat straight away, which would keep Ricciardo at V-CARB for the time being. The idea of pairing Lawson up with Verstappen has been appealing to the Red Bull bosses. This is also why the New Zealander got behind the wheel of the RB20 in Silverstone for a test on Thursday.
Red Bull will be able to analyze the situation much better when the results of Lawson’s test are graded. For now, Perez is on thin ice and has two races (Hungary and Belgium) to prove his worth to the team.
