Red Bull will decide on Sergio Perez’s future at a meeting after Abu Dhabi
A crucial meeting of Red Bull shareholders will take place after Abu Dhabi to decide Sergio Perez's fate. The Mexican driver had another tough weekend, finishing in a precarious tenth place.
The future of the Mexican driver, under contract until 2025, after signing an extension earlier this year, is once again at the center of speculation following a disappointing season.
Despite Red Bull’s support this summer, as his performances plummeted, Sergio Perez‘s inability to turn the situation around has jeopardized his position within the team.
With a massive gap of 251 points between him and his teammate, Max Verstappen, Red Bull has seen its chances of retaining the constructors’ championship diminish, with the Milton Keynes team sliding to third place in the standings.
A crucial meeting after Abu Dhabi
Helmut Marko, motorsport advisor at Red Bull, confirmed that a meeting will take place after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to decide Sergio Perez’s future.
There will be a meeting after Abu Dhabi, and the outcome of this meeting will be presented to the shareholders. They will then decide on the situation of the drivers for next year,” Marko told ORF.
« I don’t know the exact gap now, but I think Checo is over 200 points behind Max. This obviously makes the constructors’ title impossible… If Sergio were close to [Lewis] Hamilton, [George] Russell, Ferrari or even McLaren, we would be back in the lead by a wide margin. »
The race too many?
Sergio Perez, who had a disastrous weekend in Las Vegas (eliminated in Q1 in 16th place before scoring only one point in the race), insisted that he will be back next season.
However, Christian Horner, team principal of Red Bull, acknowledged that his place is not guaranteed: “We have drivers under contract, and others with options. This remains between the company and the drivers concerned. If we had something to say, we would tell you.”
« Only one point for Checo… It was a good comeback from him, but the problem is that we are starting from too far back on a day when McLaren was weak. We would have liked to take more points from them today,” Horner details.
Red Bull could choose to promote Yuki Tsunoda or Liam Lawson, currently in their B team, AlphaTauri. Yuki Tsunoda will test the RB20 during the end-of-season tests in Abu Dhabi.
Another option could be Franco Colapinto, who impressed by replacing Logan Sargeant at Williams but does not yet have a full-time seat for 2025.
