EXCLUSIVE: Red Bull F1 facing Sergio Perez ‘DILEMMA’ in huge contract decision

perez, red bull, 2024, socials — Photo: © IMAGO

GPFans Exclusive

EXCLUSIVE: Red Bull facing Perez ‘DILEMMA’ in huge contract decision

Red Bull still have a huge decision to make over their 2025 F1 driver lineup

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Sunday 15 December 2024 09:57 Updated: 19:53

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Red Bull are facing a major dilemma over the future of Sergio Perez's contract despite a dismal 2024 season, it has been claimed.

The Mexican racer has been under intense pressure for the majority of this year with team principal Christian Horner pleading for the Red Bull driver to improve or risk losing his seat.

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Heading into the season finale in Abu Dhabi last weekend, Horner had confirmed the decision over Perez's future at Red Bull was now in his hands, although things may have drastically changed following the 34-year-old's DNF at the Yas Marina Circuit in the 24th round of 2024.

Perez's team-mate and star of Red Bull Max Verstappen managed to secure his fourth-consecutive championship with the team this season, despite also facing problems with his car similar to Perez.

The Dutchman's consistent appearances high up in the points, however, kept him on top of the drivers' championship standings, whereas Perez frequently failed to secure big points for the team, thus contributing significantly to their downfall in the constructors' championship.

Thanks to their strong driver duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, McLaren went on to claim the 2024 team crown, with even Ferrari pipping Red Bull in the final standings after a strong finish to the campaign.

Sergio Perez is awaiting official confirmation of his axing from Red Bull ahead of the 2025 season

Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen failed to secure the consrtuctors' championship this season

Mark Blundell debates Red Bull 2025 driver lineup

In a discussion shared exclusively with GPFans through aceodds, former F1 driver and TV pundit Mark Blundell debated Red Bull's dilemma ahead of the imminent announcement over Perez's future.

"I think it's a fluid situation and one that's going to take quite a bit of brain power over the off-season to try and put in place," Blundell explained.

"I think they've got themselves into a little bit of a dilemma. The big ticket is the constructors. The big ticket financially is the constructors and to do so in terms of earning those rewards, you need two strong drivers to keep putting in consistent point scoring.

"No matter what way we look at it at this point, Sergio has not been as consistent as he needs to be."

Mark Blundell competed in F1 in 1991 and then again between 1993 and 1995

As fans await official confirmation of Perez's exit from Red Bull, reports have suggested that junior team driver Liam Lawson would be the one to partner Verstappen in place of Perez.

"There's got to be this massive question mark now that sits there. When you've got young guns like Lawson coming through, I'm sure that they have to evaluate what the performance is and see whether they feel he's the future" Blundell added.

"Not sure what will happen in the end because I think there are also some big commercial gains that come with Perez but that's a balancing act of risk and reward with a bigger view on what the outcome is."

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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F1 Red Bull Lewis Hamilton Christian Horner Sergio Perez