Christian Horner admits to misjudging Sergio Perez's early contract extension as Red Bull weighs 2025 driver options
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admitted that a mid-season two-year contract extension with Sergio Perez was a mistake. Ahead of the shareholders meeting where Checo's future will be discussed, Horner said that his team jumped the gun as the move hasn't worked as per expectations.
Sergio Perez is possibly driving his final race with Red Bull, with his future hanging in the balance. Earlier in June this year, the Mexican driver signed a two-year extension contract with the energy drink-based outfit. While the move was supposed to take some pressure off his shoulders, Checo's performance only dipped further.
As Red Bull stands on the brink of losing the constructors championship, Christian Horner, the team principal, admitted that he misstepped with Checo's early contract extension. Speaking to Motorsport.com, Horner said that the extension stemmed from Perez's first-half performance: four podiums in five races. Moreover, to take away the pressure of job security, the Bulls made a conscious choice of committing to the driver early. In hindsight, this judgment call didn't work out.
“Obviously, at the time, Sergio was performing extremely well. I think he had four podiums in the first five races and, in order to settle his mind and extend that run of form for the rest of the season, we elected to go early - which obviously didn't work. That's just life sometimes," said Horner.
Furthermore, Horner recalled Perez's past performance, speaking highly of his personality and popularity within the team.
“But I think with Checo you have to look beyond this year for the contribution that he's made to our team. He's been a great team player. He's a great person. He's extremely popular within the team. He's worked very hard over the four years that he's been with us and he's played a vital role in the constructors’ championships that we've won, the five grand prix victories that he had in our car. It's been the most successful pairing that we've ever had, finishing first and second in the drivers' championship last year," he added.
As far as the decision on Max Verstappen's teammate for the 2025 season is concerned, the team principal spoke about a large pool of talent. However, he also added that until the issue of Sergio Perez's future issue is resolved, any rumors related to Liam Lawson or Yuki Tsunoda are pure speculation.
“It was good to see Isack Hadjar getting a run out as well in free practice. We've got two talented drivers in VCARB [RB], so until the situation is clear with Sergio and what he wants to do, everything else is purely speculation," said Horner.
At the end of the 2024 season, Red Bull Racing's management and stakeholders are set to meet with Sergio Perez and management to take a mutual call on his future with the team. Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunonda, and Franco Colapinto are some rumored names that have surfaced as potential replacements.
Sergio Perez takes partial blame for Red Bull's constructors title defeat
Red Bull Racing is trailing by 59 points to McLaren in the 2024 season constructors title race, with one race left on the calendar. Sergio Perez's 277-point deficit to Max Verstappen is widely deemed as the core factor behind the debacle. Speaking at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Checo took some responsibility for the position but also said that the entire team should have fought harder for the title.
"Of course, I take responsibility. But also I don’t feel it’s fully all down to one person. I’m obviously part of a big organisation, a big team. And it’s very unfortunate that we did not fight any harder for the Constructors’," said Perez.
On the contrary, Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko said that the points deficit between Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen is a problem. He added that employees are dejected to lose their bonuses as those depend on the team's position in the constructors' title race.
Stories around Checo's future are unlikely to die any time soon. For now, as the Mexican driver approaches the final race of the roller coaster season, he aims to finish off a high and give fans a reason to celebrate.