"He just needs to keep doing what he's doing," says Red Bull boss of Sergio Perez, as speculation over 2025 driver market continues.

Lewis Hamilton's shock move to Ferrari already guaranteed that this year's edition of 'who goes where' would be particularly exciting - especially when the line up in Bahrain was exactly the same as it had been a few months earlier in Abu Dhabi.

But then came the Horner saga and the possibility of a vacancy at Red Bull also.

Of course, even before he'd claimed his fourth pole of the season and third win, nobody really bought into the 'Max to Mercedes' or 'Max to Aston Martin' nonsense, but there remained the question mark over the second seat at Red Bull.

Though Sergio Perez finally got his act together and helped his team to its first ever 1-2 in the championship last year, the Mexican's form over the course of the '23 season had been erratic, and it was clear that the Austrian outfit would not tolerate more of the same.

Other than a blip in Bahrain, his qualifying form this season has been better, and on Saturday he gave his teammate a run for his money, while on Sundays he has claimed three seconds, including a strong drive in Japan.

Consequently, Christian Horner insists that the major factor in whether Perez retains his seat for a fifth season is the Mexican himself.

"His confidence is high, he's very focused on the job at hand, and he's comfortable in the team," said the Briton at race end on Sunday. "He knows he's out of contract for next year, and it's his seat to lose, he's very popular in the team, and he's started the season in the best possible way.

"He just needs to keep doing what he's doing," he added.

This weekend Perez has been particularly feisty, missing out on pole by just 0.066s, and having to recover after being undercut by Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc switching to a one-stop strategy.

Dropping to sixth after his first stop, the Mexican had to make some bold moves in his bid to get back to the front including successive passes in the notorious 130R on the Mercedes pair.

"There were a couple of moments where, I must admit, I had my eyes shut as he went into 130R," said Horner. "'Do you need to do it there? Can't you wait until the straight?' He didn't look like he had three kids when he made that move!"

Despite the previous speculation over Verstappen's departure that particular little story has gone quiet of late while (F2 star) Kimi Antonelli is one of several drivers linked with Mercedes, along with Carlos Sainz.

"The whole driver market seems to be very early this year," said Horner. "Everybody seems to be rushing around and we're only four races into the year.

"We're not in a huge rush," he added, "and obviously there's a significant amount of interest in our cars, as you would expect, but Checo has the priority and it's going to be a few more races yet before we start to think about next year."

"Last year, Japan in particular was Sergio's worst race," Helmut Marko subsequently told Sky Germany. "Everything went wrong then, so I think it's particularly satisfying for him.

"You can see he can do it," he added. "But perhaps it also plays a role that next year's contracts are at stake, this year much earlier than usual. That also seems to be very motivating."

Check out our Sunday gallery from Suzuka here.

LATEST NEWS

more news >

LATEST IMAGES

galleries >

Click to go to the main galleries section

READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by BrightonCorgi, 10/04/2024 11:16

"Perhaps Red Bull might want to give Mick Schumacher some consideration? Great for the brand and a driver who doesn't make waves & drama. I prefer him to be promoted at Mercedes, but it doesn't seem like that's where it's going for him.

The consensus is that it's Perez seat to lose. His best shot to win a championship is on Red Bull. Number 2 at Red Bull is a lot closer to winning the Driver's than Number 1 at "fill in the blank". "

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

2. Posted by stoney, 09/04/2024 15:30

"@BrightonCorgi - I understand what you're saying. I'm just not sure who that emerging talent is going to be. And I'm also not sure Red Bull are looking for the next champion yet. Maybe in a few years, but right now they are invested around Max. They're looking for a no hassle #2 driver to Max that will ensure the constructors championship and maximise their position consistently, while being comfortable to have no championship ambitions of their own.

They basically want Rubens Barrichello from 2002 to 2004 (but without the Austrian podium fuss).

That's why I kinda feel they will wait - keep the pressure on Checo. And maybe Checo's ok to have time to prove he deserves a multi-year deal. He does need to.

But, good discussion ;)"

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

3. Posted by BrightonCorgi, 09/04/2024 13:07

"@stoney - If Checo is replaced, I expect to be for an emerging talent. A senior driver doesn't evolve the next champion like it has for Vettel and Verstappen. A back fill (experienced driver replacement) is a lack of planning move.

I'd rather test the waters in a new formula with two experienced drivers that mesh well with their respective engineers like it is currently."

Rating: Neutral (0) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

4. Posted by stoney, 09/04/2024 7:22

"@BrightonCorgi - I know nothing, so can't comment out of any expertise, but with the rule changes coming in 2026, they might also look for consistency in their driver pairing for 2025/26. With Checo, it's also tough for Red Bull to put a 2-year contract down on the table, but on-boarding someone else into the team with a new car is also a challenge and who are the realistic alternatives?

My gut feeling is they're going to do what they say - wait and see. They have to do nothing actively, they keep the pressure on Checo, plus keep the ship stable for Max. Then they will probably stick with Checo if he does well. If not, as said - who do they go to? Carlos is looking for a #1 shot, which would only destablise the team further in my view and I doubt he's willing to wait for them."

Rating: Positive (1) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

5. Posted by BrightonCorgi, 08/04/2024 16:22

"I expect Perez to be at Red Bull next season on a one year contract."

Rating: Positive (2) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

6. Posted by @R1Racing71, 08/04/2024 15:14

"If I didn’t know better I’d say liberty are putting pressure on Red Bull to stick a super fast driver in there to give Max a run for his money next year!"

Rating: Negative (-2) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

7. Posted by JamesD, 08/04/2024 10:40

"Sergio needs to be pushing Max on race day. Yes, he's improved his qualifying but Max still bested him yesterday by nearly 13 seconds."

Rating: Positive (2) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

Perez: "It's his seat to lose," says Horner

LATEST NEWS

RELATED ARTICLES

LATEST IMAGES

POST A COMMENT

Post your comment

READERS COMMENTS

Share this page