Perez pressing on: ‘I will be driving for Red Bull next year’
For all the speculation surrounding Sergio Perez’s future with Red Bull, the Mexican driver has made it clear – and not for the first time – that he intends to be racing with his current team in 2025.
A cloud of uncertainty has been hovering for months over Perez as a result of his inconsistent performances and massive deficit all year-long to teammate Max Verstappen.
On the eve of the final round of the 2024 F1 season, Perez currently sits eighth in the Drivers’ standings, a whopping 277 points behind Verstappen, a shortfall that has also left Red Bull itself just third in the Constructors’ standings behind McLaren and Ferrari.
While the numbers and the facts paint a grim picture, Perez remains adamant that he will be a raging bull once again in 2025.
“Nothing has changed since before in terms of what I've said for the entire year,” he told the media at Yas Marina on Thursday.
When pressed to confirm if he was 100% confident of staying with the team, Perez doubled down: “I already said, mate, nothing further to add. I have a contract for next year so nothing further to add.”
Perez’s confidence comes against the backdrop of a challenging stretch of races. Since the summer break, his best finish has been a sixth-place result at Zandvoort, and high-profile errors like a slow pit-lane start in the Qatar sprint race and a spin behind the safety car in the main event have amplified criticism.
Read also:
The speculation around his future reached a fever pitch after Red Bull boss Christian Horner hinted that all options were on the table.
“It's not an enjoyable situation for Checo being in this position with speculation every week,” Horner remarked after the Qatar Grand Prix. “He's old enough and wise enough to know what the situation is and let's see where we are after Abu Dhabi.”
Adding fuel to the fire is a looming Red Bull management meeting scheduled for this Monday following the season finale. Pundits appear to agree that Verstappen’s 2025 teammate will be sourced from sister outfit RB, with either Yuki Tsunoda or Liam Lawson stepping up to the Milton Keynes-based outfit.
Despite the noise, Perez emphasized that his position with the team remains unchanged. Earlier this year, he secured a contract extension with Red Bull, which ostensibly guarantees his seat for next season.
While such deals often contain performance-related break clauses, any early termination would likely require a negotiated settlement.
“To be honest I haven't been much into it for sure. I have seen the rumours but nothing different to the last couple of months,” he said.
“In that regard nothing further to add. I already said it in the last six months, that I'm here. I renewed with the team earlier in the year and I'm here to be the driver for the team next year and it's where my full focus is.”
Perez also insisted that he continues to feel the support of Red Bull’s senior figures, Horner and Helmut Marko, despite the ups and downs.
“I think it’s just important to stay in it together because, like I said, the season hasn’t been the greatest,” he added.
“But, at the end of the day, there’s a reason why they renewed me, and they know that I still can do it and that’s an important factor.”
©RedBull
While his results have been sub-standard, Perez believes there are reasons to be optimistic. He suggested that the car has started to feel more predictable in recent races, which has helped him regain some confidence.
“I mean, I think it’s been coming for a while,” he explained. “There’s been a lot of signs in the last few races, but for some reason or another one we just can’t get it all in one.
“So I will really keep pushing for this final race to really try to finish the season on a high because at the end of the day, it’s always nice to go home with a good result.”
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and X
The post Perez pressing on: ‘I will be driving for Red Bull next year’ appeared first on F1i.com.