In a dramatic twist, Sergio Perez will continue as Max Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull following a crucial meeting on Monday.
The decision emerged from a Red Bull management meeting, which included team principal Christian Horner and advisor Helmut Marko. While Red Bull hasn’t officially confirmed the outcome, sources say Horner informed the team that Perez will remain in the car when the season resumes at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Perez has struggled to match Verstappen’s performance, who has already clinched seven Grand Prix wins. With Red Bull’s pace advantage fading, Perez’s difficulties since May have given McLaren a chance to challenge, narrowing the gap to 42 points in the standings.
Last Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix was another tough race for Perez. Despite starting second, he ended up eighth, only to be promoted to seventh after George Russell’s disqualification. This poor performance raised doubts about his future, but it seems Perez has been given another shot to prove himself.
Christian Horner expressed his frustrations, saying, ‘Nobody wants to see Checo struggle. Everybody wants to see him succeed because it hurts seeing him in the situation that he is in. But in the team, we want to get him going.’
Perez, on the other hand, is done addressing the rumors about his future. ‘I think we have too much going on in the team and a lot of things that we have to focus on, and we cannot waste any energy with all this speculation,’ he said. ‘This is the last time I will speak about the future, so just to make it clear for everyone, I will not be speaking anymore. I will not answer any more questions about the future.’
With Perez staying at Red Bull, the pressure is on for him to improve his performance. As the F1 season heats up, all eyes will be on the Mexican driver to see if he can turn things around.
