Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has admitted that they could change their driver duo before the start of the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Max Verstappen could win the drivers' championship for the fourth year in a row this weekend. However, Sergio Perez underperformed for much of the season in the team's second car, leaving Red Bull only third in the constructors' championship.
Perez having scored only eight runs in the last five innings. Horner said the team needed him to contribute more to its efforts to overhaul McLaren and Ferrari.
“Sergio is our driver and we want to do our best to get the best out of him,” Horner said today in Las Vegas, when asked about Dr. Helmut Marko's continued threats to replace the Mexican.
“He’s had a very difficult spell of form over the last few weeks and months.”
“From a manufacturers' point of view, we desperately need the two cars to work in tandem, which hasn't been the case. So obviously, I hope Checo can get some good performances in these last three races. “
“But there’s no way we can win the constructors’ championship without it.”
Red Bull placed Liam Lawson in their second team, RB F1, three races ago. They also have other drivers under contract, including Lawson's teammate Yuki Tsunoda, as well as leading junior drivers Ayumu Iwasa and Isack Hadjar.
The team extended Perez's contract in June and he insisted he would be “100% there next year”. But Horner said the teams' contracts with their driver roster give them the option to make a change for 2025.
“All the drivers we have under contract, we are very clear about their contractual situation. We could, if we wanted, leave things as they are until Melbourne next year [la première manche] because we have pilots under contract.”
“But inevitably, at the end of the year, we will look at all the information we have in light of what I have just said regarding the form of Checo and all our other drivers.”
Does Perez's contract allow for a demotion to RB F1?
"Our contracts are secret," replies Horner to conclude.
