Amid the recent unrest within Red Bull, reports surfaced of Max Verstappen not wanting to be on the team anymore. When Red Bull launched an investigation into Helmut Marko, Verstappen was outspoken in supporting the 80-year-old. He outrightly claimed that he, too, would leave Red Bull should Marko leave. A supposed ‘Marko clause’ in Verstappen’s contract allows him to leave the team without repercussions. Given the same, Mercedes emerged as the surprise team to sign the Dutchman.
Talking about the possibility of the move, Toto Wolff claimed Mercedes must improve their car before they can bring Verstappen over. They need good equipment before dreaming about what their future can be. Wolff added each team on the grid would be willing to do handstands for the possibility of signing the 3X reigning world champion. Christian Horner also claimed Verstappen was free to decide on his future. However, he added he was confident that the Dutchman would serve the entirety of his contract. Given all of the above, uncertainty remains intact around the future of Verstappen, with teams waiting to pounce on an opportunity to sign him.
Although speaking ahead of the Australian GP, Verstappen did try to shut down all the rumors. In an interview with the Project, the Dutchman was asked if there was a scenario in which we would see him out of the blue overalls, and he replied, “Once I stop driving.”
Sergio Perez has already signed an extension, claims F1 expert
The future of Sergio Perez at Red Bull has been up for debate for quite some time now. It all began in 2023 when Max Verstappen built an unassailable lead over the rest of the grid, including his teammate. Failing to match up with his Dutch counterpart, Perez came under fire for his performance. Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo impressed everyone with his performances for (formerly) AlphaTauri, further sending Perez’s future into doubt.
However, F1 expert Peter Windsor recently made a startling revelation on his Official YouTube channel. The former Ferrari GM claimed he had heard from reliable sources that Perez had already signed a contract extension with Red Bull.
“I heard, in the paddock area, from various sources that are pretty reliable, that Sergio [Perez] has already renewed his contract for next year.”
Should the latest update by Windsor be true, it would be a huge blow to the hopes of Carlos Sainz and Yuki Tsunoda. Sainz is currently out of a driving seat for 2025 and is hoping to impress a team enough to sign him. Given the fact that he is the only driver to defeat Red Bull in 2023 and 2024 (so far), chances were that the Milton Keynes-based outfit would want to join forces with him. Meanwhile, Honda-backed Tsunoda has been a part of the Red Bull setup for over four years but hasn’t had the chance to drive with the senior team.
Tsunoda has been off to a flying start in 2024, outperforming Daniel Ricciardo every step of the way. However, the performances might not translate to him getting a promotion. If Windsor’s claims are indeed true, the question mark over Perez’s head has changed teams and now dangles over the head of Max Verstappen.
