Last Updated on September 22 2024, 4:18 am

Sergio Perez was expected by most F1 paddock observers to be sacked following the F1 summer break. The Red Bull driver finished seventh in the Belgian Grand Prix, his best result since Miami early in the season.

Checo was there in seventh place in the drivers’ title race and with only four teams claiming the lions share of the points each weekend he was almost the worst performing amongst all the pairings from Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari and McAren.

Yet despite suggestions from Dr. Helmut Marko that a post summer break pow-wow amongst the Red Bull senior hierarchy would see Perez ditched for the race in Zandvoort, Checo was given a lifeline as Christian Horner explained. When asked by Sky Sports why Perez had been given more time, Horner replied: “Who would you change it for? Why would you change it?

 

 

 

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“Look, I think that we know what Checo is capable of. We know that at the beginning of the year, he was scoring, what, four podiums in five races. And if we can get him back into… I think he’s just had a lack of confidence and has ended up in a bit of a spiral.”

Horner went on to say Sergio had a reset during the summer break and revealed the reason Red Bull had retained his services was because, “we’ve got Azerbaijan, where he’s won both sprint race and grand prix on the same weekend. He’s won another fantastic race in Singapore against Charles Leclerc in mixed conditions. He’s been very quick at Monza.”

Yet historical success proved to have deserted Checo. In Azerbaijan he failed to finish and in Monza he trailed home almost a minute behind the winner. At the Netherlands Grand Prix Perez had his best result since the summer sojourn, coming home sixth some 40 seconds behind the victor Lando Norris.

This weekend in Singapore is the last of Horner’s stated Perez specialist circuits. Yet in qualifying he was nowhere, scraping out of Q1 but finishing the session in P13.

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Perez future an “inevitable” discussion say Horner

Christian Horner has admitted in Singapore that the team has discussed the “inevitability” of the need to discuss both Daniel Riciardo and Sergio’s Perez future during the next month long break before F1 returns to race in Austin, Texas.

The Red Bull boss admitted that talks over Ricciardo’s future will take place in the upcoming three week break, suggesting this is a solid amount of time to prepare Liam Lawson for his big shot at F1 racing full time.

It was slightly bemusing that Horner was keen to stress any move replacing Ricciardo with Lawson was merely Milton Keynes wanting to check they have the best possible driver line-up at sister outfit for V-CARB for next years competition.

“There is a much bigger picture than just Daniel as we continue to look at all of our options as we move forward,” Horner told Sky F1. “Now there’s a natural break with effectively a month’s gap to the next race, so it’s only natural that you take stock.”

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Ricciardo finale almost done

Whilst Horner continued with Ricciardo as the subject there were undertones suggesting Perez too may be under intense scrutiny. “It’s not to the detriment of Daniel, we know how he’s performed. We’ve got a lot of data and a lot of knowledge about where Daniel is. It’s a much bigger picture within the whole driver merry-go-round of what does the future look like.”

Perez’s woeful qualifying effort in Singapore and presumable low haul of points for the team tomorrow will mark the end of the time Horner gave for the reason to retain the Mexican. With just 12 points under his belt since the autumn return to F1 racing, Perez is facing the sack from a clause in his contract which requires him to be within 100 points of his team mate. The current deficit to Max is 180 points.

Red Bull have attempted to lure McLaren’s Lando Norris away from the papaya liveried team on two separate previous occasions. Should the world champions return to form and repel Norris current teams attack, they would make an attractive option for Lando who would be given preference should Verstappen leave.

Norris has clauses in his contract which allow him to leave McLaren before the current deal which is expected to expire ate the end of 2026. As a replacement for Perez next year he would prove the most formidable opponent Max has faced since his early yers up against the flying Daniel Ricciardo.

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Red Bull ‘young blood’ vs Russell/Norris

However Horner’s comments suggest Red Bull are now finally looking within their racing programme for the drivers who will see of the old boys of Ricciardo and Perez.

“The Red Bull system does demand results and demand performance. Of course, Max is delivering. Checo [Sergio Perez] has been underdelivering this year. Last year, he did a good job, or good enough job to finish second in the [drivers’] championship and [for Red Bull to] be constructors’ champions,” noted Horner.

The Red Bull boss then waxed lyrical over the junior talent in the Red Bull driver programme but interestingly concluding: “Look, we’re not afraid to go out of the pool. George Russell is out of contract at the end of next year. It would be foolish not to take that into consideration. There are other drivers, talented drivers, that will be out of contract as well.”

Contracts in F1 are not worth the paper they are written on. If the soliciting party is prepared to pay what it takes, Verstappen’s contract until the end of 2028 – for example – can be bought out by another team if Red Bull decide his heart is no longer with them.

Equally Norris has release clause agreements and its highly likely Red Bull will once again try to capture Lando’s signature – who may feel his McLaren team has not best supported his chase for the drivers’ championship this season by refusing to make him the team’s number one driver.

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Red Bull staff claim Newey relationship “ice cold”

Until now, Red Bull and Adrian Newey have continued to rub along together despite the F1 guru engineer announcing he was leaving the team at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Yet relations between the parties have taken a turn for the worse since the big presentation from Aston Martin revealing Adrian Newey was set to join the Silverstone based team on March 1st 2025.

Newey had been slated to attend a number of Grand Prix this year despite his resignation, though this would be to promote the Red Bull RB17 hypercar as his work with the F1 team ended when he resigned…. READ MORE