F1 News: Red Bull Chief Reveals Priority As Sergio Perez Contract Talks Take Place

Red Bull Racing's Christian Horner discusses the strategy behind Sergio Perez's contract talks.

May 5, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Red Bull team principle Christian Horner sits in the F1 Village before the F1 Miami Grand Prix at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports / Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Red Bull Racing's team principal, Christian Horner, has recently shed light on the intricate dynamics surrounding Sergio Perez's future with the team. The revelations came ahead of the scheduled summer break meeting with Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko to discuss whether Perez will continue his role within the esteemed racing team.

This discussion gains added significance following Perez's tumultuous performance in recent races, notably starting second but finishing eighth in Belgium, although he was later promoted to seventh after George Russell was disqualified. This drop has stirred up ongoing speculations regarding his tenure with Red Bull and the possibility of Daniel Ricciardo replacing him. Ricciardo is slated to participate in a filming day that will feature Red Bull’s 2024 Formula 1 car, though Horner was quick to clarify the nature of this involvement. He commented to the media, as quoted by Motorsport Week:

“It’s a filming day, so they’ll be filming, so it’s all about content.

“It is in a current car, because you can do 200km in the current car, so we’ll both be doing plenty of filming.”

On the topic of Perez’s performance and the support structure around him, Horner explained:

“Look, we’re in a great position where we’ve got all the info, and the priority is to support Checo and to understand what he needs.

“We all want him to turn it around, we all want to see him deliver.”

Red Bull’s long-term vision extends beyond the immediate horizon, as evident in Horner’s commentary on their Driver Development Programme:

“Yeah, we’ve got issues today, but you’ve got to have solutions for tomorrow as well.

“I think we’ve got a tremendous pool of talent, we’ve got experience, we’ve got youth, we’ve got Liam [Lawson] in the wings, we’ve got Hadjar doing a super job in F2.

“We’ve got Arvid Lindblad who I think is a really exciting talent in F3. So yeah, I think we’ve got some great talent in our squad.”