(Motorsport-Total.com) – Someone is suddenly in a hurry: Sergio Perez not only wants to reach the finish line quickly on the track, but currently also next to it – with his signature on a new Red Bull contract.
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Marko, Horner and Perez currently have a lot to discuss
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At the start of the China weekend, Perez was impressed by the current fluctuation in the driver market and admitted: “Things are moving earlier than I would like.” The consequence of this for Perez regarding his own future is: “I believe that it is important not to wait too long.”
In an interview with ESPN, the Mexican is now rushing forward and pushing the envelope again: “I think it will be a matter of a few weeks until I know my future.” The 34-year-old also has clear ideas when it comes to the contract term and is putting Red Bull under pressure: “I think it makes a lot of sense that my next contract runs for at least two years because the rules are changing a lot for 2026.”
Perez explains: “I think it doesn’t make sense for the team these days to sign a driver for a year and then leave the door open, right? Especially next year, in the middle of the year, it will be a lot There are developments, so it’s important to be part of a long-term project.”
Alone: It probably won’t be as easy as Perez imagines his extension with Red Bull. Both Red Bull team boss Christian Horner and motorsport consultant Helmut Marko braked their Mexican on Friday as a prophylactic measure.
Marko’s subordinate clause calls for reason
Although Marko had recently put a new working paper in the window of the team’s number 2 driver while maintaining his current performance, the man from Graz still suggests that Perez should take a humble approach to the negotiations between the lines:
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Quo vadis? Will Sergio Perez have to look for another cockpit soon?
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“As long as ‘Checo’ is in such good form as he is now and he comes with reasonable conditions for an extension, there is actually nothing that speaks against him,” confirms Marko oe24. The rationality urged in the half-sentence is less about money, “in fact he even brings Mexican sponsors with him,” says Marko, who specifies: “His demands are more about the length of the contract.”
Team boss Horner, however, doesn’t want to deal with the content yet; the Brit is currently moving too quickly with the movement on the driver market – also with regard to Perez: “Not very soon, I’m afraid,” the Brit says when asked. When Red Bull confirms its driver pairing for 2025 is telling.
“It’s unbelievable that we’re in race five and there’s already so much talk about the drivers for next year,” says Horner, without wanting to unnecessarily upset Perez: “We’re very happy with our two drivers, but “We don’t have to make a final decision about our line-up until much later in the year,” he explains.
“Max of course has a long-term contract, ‘Checos’ is expiring, but he has driven extremely well so far this season,” praises the team boss. Horner can’t help but make a little joke as to why that is the case: “Probably because his contract is expiring,” the Brit laughs.
Horner confirms that Perez has made a leap in performance: “He worked hard over the winter and slightly changed his approach to the race weekends. And he has been very close in the races so far.” Perez is now concentrating more on himself and less on Verstappen, the team boss reveals.
Does this through pass fly right over Perez’s ears?
“They both get the same equipment and ‘Checo’ has worked very hard behind the scenes, he has put in a lot of hours in the simulator and he has moved closer to his teammate in the way he approaches the weekend, for example in the set-up. “He’s working hard and has driven some good races this year,” praises Horner.
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Will Perez remain part of Red Bull’s successful team in the future?
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Against this background, the Brit also understands his protégé: “Of course Sergio would like to announce something tomorrow, but as a team we are not really in a hurry, but in the fortunate position that many drivers would like to drive for this team.”
Horner admits that the other remaining options on the market will also be evaluated, but he still reassures: “We are happy with the pairing we have. We just want to make sure that the level of consistency is maintained with the ‘Checo ‘The season has started.”
Translated: Horner and Marko immediately played the powerful pass that Perez shot towards his team in Shanghai back to him with at least as much effect – and thus took some of the urgency out of Red Bull’s driver question.