Red Bull Racing announced a bold move earlier this month as they extended Sergio Perez’s contract by additional two years, which means Checo will stay around until the 2026 season with new engine regulations kicking in. However, Checo’s extension news was met with mixed reactions.
Given Sergio Perez’s abnormal performance in the past season, he was anticipated to be replaced. However, Red Bull chose stability over a formidable second driver. That being said, despite getting job security, Checo cannot sit back and relax as the drink based outfit can replace him anytime in the next two years for the following discussed reasons.
Constructors Championship Threat
Unlike the 2023 season, Red Bull Racing’s dominance is under massive threat this year. They are facing stiff and direct competition from McLaren and Ferrari, having lost 3 races already to both teams combined. As of this writing, RB is 49 points ahead of Ferrari in the constructors title, which can be erased in a couple of strong weekends. Now, the issue with RB is Sergio Perez and his troubles bringing the car home in one piece. In the past two races in Monaco and Canada, Checo faced a DNF, which cost the Bulls valuable points in constructors titles.
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen has set no foot wrong this year except for the DNF in Australia, which was also not his fault as his RB20 caught fire due to overheating brakes. Hence, with Max giving 100% in each race weekend, Checo is becoming a liability because of his unseriousness. Instead of competing toe-to-toe with Verstappen, Perez is struggling to keep up with McLaren and Ferrari despite being in a much faster car. Hence, if Checo’s woes continue to perpetuate until the end of the year, it’s highly likely that Red Bull will take tough measures and reprimand Checo for his ill-performance by stripping him of his contract extension after the guaranteed one year.
Red Bull Will Have Options In 2025
Besides stability and marketing factors, the lack of formidable options in the driver market also helped Sergio Perez secure a contract extension with Red Bull. RB’s second-best option besides Checo was Carlos Sainz. However, given Sainz’s past beef with Max Verstappen in Torro Rosso days, Christian Horner’s apprehension is understandable. Another option was reserve driver Daniel Ricciardo, who has been on a downward trend since leaving RB some years ago. He is currently loaned to Visa Cash RB, the drink-based outfit’s sister team.
However, things will change in 2025 with George Russell and Oscar Piastri’s contracts ceasing to exist. Russell, if he senses that Mercedes is building around young talent Andrea Kimi Antonelli, can seek an exit and join a championship-winning team, i.e., Red Bull. On the other hand, Lando Norris has been McLaren’s no.1 priority since his debut. Hence, if Piastri feels he is contained at McLaren, RBR could become a realistic option for him in the future. Overall, these two factors combined suggest that Sergio Perez’s seat is under imminent threat despite securing a two-year contract extension.
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