The door to a sensational mid-season driver renewal at Red Bull is not completely closed, despite Sergio Pérez’s contract renewal.
Perez recently applied for a new two-year contract with Red Bull, which seems to have secured his early career; However, concerns about his performance in view of a closer championship war may still prompt more changes from the team. Pilots.
While Red Bull representative Helmut Marko recently reiterated that the VCARB team’s purpose is primarily to serve as a junior team for Red Bull, he revealed that Daniel Ricciardo’s purpose is to consider him a seat at Red Bull if he puts in exceptional performances. Training
But the team then announced a contract renewal with Sergio Perez, strangely at the start of the season, with Christian Horner telling Sky F1 ahead of the British Grand Prix that the team hoped to see the Mexican’s form return to what he had shown in the first five races in 2024.
Since finishing fourth in Miami, Perez has finished eighth twice, seventh once and retired twice. As Max Verstappen continues to rack up problems, Red Bull’s lead in the constructors’ championship is just 64 problems as Silverstone takes a share of the championship.
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Asked if Red Bull had made a mistake by re-entering Perez so early, Horner replied: “It’s an incredibly complicated question. “
“But of course, the moment you point out a driver, the contents of any agreement will be revealed to all of you.
“So it made a lot of sense to single out Checo [Pérez] at the time. But this is where the pressure is on to deliver. “
He revealed that Red Bull believes a contract renewal will give Perez the confidence to continue his strong start until 2024.
“We thought the contract would help,” he said.
“I think it’s something that Checo is running very hard and he knows that it’s a game where there are no hiding places.
“Especially with Max Verstappen as a teammate. He knows that he is competing against the best and we want him like Max, because now there are two McLarens, there are two Ferraris, there are two Mercedes and we desperately want two Red Bulls.
Rumours surfaced in German publication Auto Motor und Sport on Friday that the Ricciardo/Perez switch had recently been re-examined, and PlanetF1. com understood, from its own investigations, that there are functionality clauses on both sides to allow for adjustments if it were. wish. .
Sources close to the matter have told PlanetF1. com that Christian Horner is pleased with Ricciardo’s recent recovery, who has struggled in two of his last three races, and the Australian is no longer overtaken by Yuki Tsunoda, already proven with VCARB. . for next season.
The aforementioned functionality clauses in Ricciardo and Perez’s contracts may open the door to a change of seat, that is, whether Ricciardo can continue his upward momentum through races at Silverstone, Hungaroring and Spa-Francorchamps to succeed in the summer break, putting Horner in the sumptuous position of being able to decide whether to promote Ricciardo to the position he vacated at the end of 2018. or face Pérez.
Speaking to AMus, Marko did not finish the situation facing Horner and Red Bull, saying: “We will know more during the summer holidays. “
If Ricciardo and Perez’s respective bureaucracy does indeed trigger a mid-season seat swap, the terms of Perez’s contract would likely make him a free agent on the powertrain market for F1 2025, a tempting proposition for one of the many midfield groups that still exist. without full contract. range: come with Williams, Audi, Alpine and Haas.
A departure of Pérez from the Red Bull camp would also leave a void within the VCARB team alongside Tsunoda, with the apparent top candidate for such a situation being the patient Liam Lawson as the New Zealander exercises his reserve industry for the two Red Bull teams.
Another contender could be Isack Hadjar, though: he led FP1 duties for Red Bull on Friday at Silverstone, as part of the team’s junior driver duties for the season, and inspired Marko after the race. The Austrian also indicated that discussions about Hadjar’s long career would come after the summer break, as he spoke to the media after Friday’s on-track action.
It happens that Ricciardo’s promotion to Red Bull also does not guarantee that he will continue to occupy the F1 2025 seat, leaving the option of additional adjustments for next season.
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