Red Bull admits mistake in extending Perez contract too early… and announces talks after Abu Dhabi

Days go by and the future of Sergio Perez at Red Bull – or in Formula 1 tout court? – is getting darker and darker. The ejection seat on which the Mexican has been sitting for several weeks is not far from being activated. The statements of the Austrian clan go in this direction, in any case. Ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the last round of the season, Christian Horner acknowledged that his team had made a mistake in offering Sergio Pérez a contract extension (until 2026) from June, before the Canadian Grand Prix.

The Team Principal of the Austrian team confided that by quickly extending his driver's contract, he hoped to restore confidence in the Mexican so that he could find performance and results again... but it failed. “Obviously, at the time, Sergio was performing extremely well. I think he had four podiums in the first five races. In order to reassure him and allow him to continue his momentum until the end of the season, we decided to intervene earlier, which obviously didn’t work. That’s life.”, the British leader philosophizes.

Discussions "inevitable" with Perez after Abu Dhabi

Sergio Perez, who is in 8th place in the championship with 152 points (277 less than Max Verstappen) before the final round at Yas Marina, has not scored a podium since the Chinese Grand Prix last April. His repeated poor performances have certainly cost Red Bull the Constructors' title, since the Dutchman scored almost 74% of the Austrian team's total points. His future at Red Bull is therefore logically in doubt despite his contract which runs until 2026. The Mexican could be replaced by one of the two Racing Bulls drivers, either Liam Lawson or Yuki tsunodaThe Japanese will even be at the wheel of the RB20 this Tuesday for the post-season tests.

“The test with Yuki has been planned for a while, for three months, I think, or something like that. So it’s something that’s been planned, recalls Christian Horner, who assures that the future of Sergio Perez will be discussed the week after Abu Dhabi. Checo obviously remains our driver, under contract with the team. Obviously this season has not gone to plan, especially with Checo's performances since Monaco, it has been very, very difficult for him. So it is inevitable that once this race is over, we will sit down and discuss the future.

As if to pay a first tribute to Sergio Perez's career with the Milton Keynes team, Christian Horner said that it was necessary "looking beyond this year to see the contribution he has made to our team". "He's been a great team player, he's a great person, he's extremely popular within the team, Red Bull's CEO emphasizes. He has worked extremely hard during his four years with us. He has played a vital role in the Constructors' Championships we have won and the five Grand Prix victories he has achieved in our car. It is the most successful partnership we have ever had, with a first and second place in the Drivers' Championship last year. An association which should, logically, end at the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

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