Red Bull F1 News: Christian Horner delivers HUGE Sergio Perez blow in contract admission

Christian Horner & Sergio Perez — Photo: © IMAGO

Red Bull

Horner delivers HUGE Perez blow in Red Bull contract admission

Christian Horner handed Sergio Perez a new Red Bull contract earlier in the 2024 season

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 11 December 2024 17:59 Updated: 21:47

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Christian Horner has admitted a mistake made by the team in determining Sergio Perez's future at Red Bull.

Perez is under immense pressure to keep his seat with the Milton Keynes-based outfit, following a dismal 2024 season full of inconsistencies.

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The Mexican racer managed to secure four podiums from his first five races of the season, but failed to deliver another one throughout 2024, instead finishing eighth in the drivers' championship having scored just 13 points from the final nine events of the season.

Perez's early season form prompted Red Bull to hand him a contract extension until the end of the 2026 season, but the speculation surrounding his position alongside Max Verstappen has still been rife.

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The 34-year-old finished 285 points behind Verstappen in the drivers' championship, as the Dutchman managed to win the title despite Red Bull's performance woes.

Perez has not won a race since the 2023 Azerbaijan GP, while Verstappen has managed 26 victories in that time, driving the same machinery as Perez.

Now, team principal Horner has suggested that it may have been a mistake to offer Perez a contract so early on in the season, claiming it 'didn't work'.

"Well, obviously at the time, Sergio was performing extremely well," Horner told media during the Abu Dhabi GP weekend.

"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.

"So, that's just life sometimes. And I think 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, yeah, 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. So I think nobody more is frustrated with the results than Checo, from his own high standards."