Red Bull Racing may have swept the board in Formula One during their impressive 2023 campaign, but this year has turned out somewhat differently.

Whilst Max Verstappen is set to retain his championship, his team has now slipped to third in the constructors’ race thirteen points behind Ferrari who trail McLaren by a further thirty six. The problem in Milton Keynes is clear.

Sergio Perez claimed 103 championship points over the first six races this year but since then his haul is a meagre 48 points over the latest fifteen events. This compares to Max Verstappen’s 257 over the same stretch.

 

 

 

Perez adamant over his RBR drive in 2025

This week Spanish publication Marca reported that following a new haul of sponsor signings, Perez was set fair to remain with Red Bull into the 2025 campaign. Inside information was cited claiming Sergio had outperformed both Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda in a secret Red Bull test session.

Checo signed a contract extension with Red Bull in June and has been particularly assertive at the recent Latin events that he will be racing alongside Max Verstappen next season.

Yet the mood music in Milton Keynes appear to differ significantly from this proposed outcome, with Dr. Helmut Marko talking up his young academy proteges in recent weekends. Liam Lawson is reportedly the 81 year old Austrians preferred candidate but Christian Horner is said to want Williams’ Franco Colapinto.

Despite being offered a test in the Red Bull car after the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Yuki Tsunoda appears to be doomed as a mere ‘tip of the hat’ from RBR to Honda.

Colapinto or Lawson? Max names his favourite

 

 

 

Horner and Marko clash over replacement

Christian Horner had an extended meeting with James Vowles last time out in Brazil which was confirmed by several onlookers in the paddock to have entered the Grove based team’s ‘motorhome.’

Even with two teams and four seats available, Red Bull appear to be lacking a solution themselves to the 2025 team line up conundrum. Meanwhile Sergio Perez now reveals he rejected offers from two teams this year, preferring to fight for his drive at RBR.

In his latest media blitz from the past two weekends, Perez explains to GQ magazine he had choices to leave Red Bull Racing before signing his contract extension.

“I had an opportunity, two opportunities, to change teams,” he confessed. “When I looked at it, I thought, I really love the challenge I have at Red Bull. It’s a massive challenge being Max’s teammate. It’s a challenge that basically trains you for all of it.

“So I said, I want to spend my last part of my career at the top, at the very top, where the pressure, it’s full-on.”

Classic F1 track to be dropped

 

 

 

Options with lesser F1 teams

So what would have been Sergio’s options? He appears to suggest it would be with one of the lesser teams when he talks of remaining “at the top, at the very top.” Clearly V-CARB can be eliminated given its role is to promote young drivers’ into Formula One and Checo is now one of the elder statesmen on the F1 grid.

Of course there was a point intake when Carlos Sainz was knocking on Red Bull’s door and whilst a target for Williams too he would clearly have replaced Perez. James Vowles has set the future course of the team to include experienced drivers so should Sainz have been signed by the world champions clearly Sergio would be a free agent.

With Aston Martin declaring their hand early this year, giving they current drivers contract extensions, this would leave Haas F1, Alpine and Sauber-Audi potentially in the hunt for the Mexican’s autograph. All three teams at various points within the year have been on the hunt for an experienced driver.

Yet should Checo now be dismissed by Red Bull, the other teams’ rosters for next season are complete with the announcement from Sauber-Audi thy would be taking the talented McLaren academy driver, Gabriel Bortoleto.

Wolff reveals he chose n to intervene during Hamilton/Ferrari talks

 

 

 

“Just part of the game” says Checo

When asked about the mounting rumours of an early exit from Red Bull, Perez dismissed the talk as “part of the game” where a driver is only as good as his last performance.

“It’s how the sport is. You have one, two bad races, a lot of negative talk about you and so on,” he told GQ. “But it’s also something in the culture of the team as well—with Red Bull. The surrounding talk, the contract talks and so on. It’s just part of the game.”

Checo acknowledges the challenges he has faced this season with the RB20 and even the great Max Verstappen suffered a ten race weekend drought of wins as the in season development at Red Bull took a turn for the worse.

F1 drivers often refuse to acknowledge when their F1 career is fading, with the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo evidencing this by dropping down to smaller teams before leaving the sport.

F1 race director “sacked” mystery

 

 

 

Worst season at Red Bull Racing

With just 151 points to his name, this cold be the worst performance of his four year Red bull career. He remains 39 points behind his Red Bull debut season final tally and given he has claimed less than 50 points across the last fifteen race weekend, its highly unlikely Checo will reach that total.

Perez has not visited the podium since round five at the Chinese Grand Prix. His last victory of any description came in Azerbaijan in 2023, which was round four of an epic season which saw his team mate crush long held F1 records almost week in and out. 

Even so, Sergio is grateful for the opportunity offered by Red bull Racing. “At the end of the day, when you go through a difficult period, there is a lot of talk,” he admitted. “But ultimately, there is 90 percent of the grid who would have loved to have my career.

Williams to miss Las Vegas Grand Prix

 

 

 

Las Vegas good memories for Checo

“When you are a driver, you only think about the next race—the next challenge, the next category, the next contract. It’s always about next, next, next.

“Sometimes it’s good to step back out of it and remember how far you’ve gone. It’s a very brutal sport.”

Last time out in Las Vegas, Perez had one of his better weekends at the inaugural race along the Strip. Battling in the closing stages with Charles Leclerc he lost out on a Red Bull 1-2 in the dying laps of the race.

A run of four podiums over the first five weekends of this season, meant a year of promise appeared to be ahead of the Mexican driver. Yet it proved not to be the case as these were the only three occasions Perez made the top three, crashing late with Carlos Sainz while battling for the last spot on the podium in Baku.

The price of Perez crash bill this season

 

 

 

Norris expresses “relief” now the F1 title fight is over

Max Verstappen heads into the Formula One season ending triple header in control of the drivers’ championship. Now 62 points ahead of Lando Norris with just 86 on offer, the Red Bull ace is on course to claim his fourth consecutive title should he finish ahead of the McLaren driver in the night time race along the strip.

Norris entered the recent weekend in Brazil full of optimism and his win and the McLaren 1-2 in the Sprint looked to have set him on his way. Max was just fourth in the shorter race form having received a five second driving penalty for breaching safety car protocol.

Come the Grand Prix Lando would start from pole position. While Verstappen appeared to be having the nightmare weekend he and the team would have dreaded. Max was caught out battling for track position with Esteban Ocon when the second qualifying session was red flagged as the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll had spun at turn three… READ MORE