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A strong start has Sergio Pérez feeling comfortable about his Red Bull future
With over half of the current Formula 1 grid driving on an expiring contract, the upcoming driver transfer market is shaping up to be one of the most transformative in the history of the sport. Of course, the decision by Lewis Hamilton to leave Mercedes at the end of the season and move to Ferrari certainly adds some spice to the situation.
One of the drivers set to see his contract expire? Sergio Pérez at Red Bull. Given that the organization has a number of drivers eying a move to Red Bull — such as Yuki Tsunoda, Liam Lawson, and Daniel Ricciardo — and the number of upcoming free agents such as Carlos Sainz Jr. and Fernando Alonso, there are a lot of options for the team.
Including Pérez himself.
But given the driver’s strong start to the season, Pérez is feeling rather comfortable with a decision on his future expected soon.
“I’m very relaxed about it. It’s my 14th season in F1. Whatever comes next, I’m really pleased with what I’ve done in the sport so far and I believe it will be a matter of time,” Perez told Sky Sports F1.
The reason for his relaxation can be found on the track. Red Bull has locked out the front row in three of the four races this season, with Pérez posting a trio of P2s to start the year. Then in Australia, where Max Verstappen’s race ended early with a brake duct issue, Pérez remained in the fight and delivered a P5 for the team, perhaps maximizing what was possible after Verstappen’s retirement.
“The driver market is moving and the next few weeks, there will be a lot of movement for sure,” added Pérez. “I expect in a month to really know what I’m doing next year.”
Something else that is likely contributing to his calm state of mind? Pérez seems to have two big voices in his corner. Red Bull senior advisor Dr. Helmut Marko, never one to shy away from offering his opinion, praised the driver recently, hailing his qualifying performance in Japan.
“I think Pérez is better than expected. Especially after a really bad weekend here last year,” described Marko to Motorsport.
“Last year in particular this was Sergio’s worst race. Everything went wrong then, so I think it is especially satisfying for him. You can see that can do it,” added Marko. “But perhaps it also influences that next year’s contracts are at stake, this year much earlier than usual. And that also seems to be very motivating.”
Qualifying a season ago proved to be a problem for Pérez, who endured a mid-season slump on Saturdays. He rebounded down the stretch and held on to P2 in the Drivers’ Championship, but entered the year seemingly fighting for his role with the team.
Another voice in his corner? Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner.
“Checo has the priority and it’s going to be a few more races yet before we start to think about next year,” said Horner following the Japanese Grand Prix.
“It’s his seat to lose. He’s doing a great job and qualified within a tenth of a second from Max. It was by far his best qualifying performance around at Suzuka,” Horner added.
“You can see his confidence is growing. His performance in the race, again, was very strong. He’s doing exactly what was needed of him.”
The year began with conventional wisdom holding that his seat at Red Bull would be up for grabs.
But due to a strong start to the campaign, the winds seem to be shifting in Pérez’s direction.
