Aurélie Sacchelli, Media365, published on Monday November 25, 2024 at 5:05 p.m.
Only eighth in the world championship while his teammate Max Verstappen won a fourth title this Sunday, Mexican Sergio Perez is not sure of keeping his wheel at Red Bull. His future will be decided after the last Grand Prix, in Abu Dhabi in two weeks.
But what is happening this season to Sergio Perez? While last year, the Mexican finished vice-world champion behind his untouchable teammate Max Verstappen, by winning the Grands Prix of Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan, this year he is only a shadow of him. -even. The 34-year-old driver only occupies eighth place in the world rankings after the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which saw the Dutchman be crowned for the fourth time. After getting on four podiums in the first five GPs (but no victories), the Mexican then fell into line, even finishing outside the points in three of the last six Grands Prix. Even though he extended his contract with Red Bull for the next two years last June, the question of his future within the Austrian team arises. It will be decided after the last Grand Prix, in Abu Dhabi in two weeks.
The shareholders will decide
“There will be a meeting after Abu Dhabi and the result of this meeting will be presented to the shareholders who will then decide on the situation of the drivers of both teams for next year,” team advisor Helmut Marko told the Austrian media. ORF. I don't know the exact gap, but I think Checo has more than 200 points less than Max (252 in fact, editor's note). And it is clear that the manufacturers' title is no longer possible (Red Bull is third, 53 points behind McLaren, editor's note)… so if Sergio was close to (Lewis) Hamilton and (George) Russell or Ferrari or even McLaren, we would be in the lead again.” Six times this season, Sergio Perez was eliminated in Q1, further proof of the gulf that separates him from his teammate.
Perez saved by his sponsors?
Christian Horner, the boss of the team, in any case did not want to argue about “Checo”: “We have drivers under contract. There is nothing to say about this. But if there was something to say, I would tell you. I can say, obviously, only one point from Checo. It was good behavior on his part, a good recovery (started 16th, arrived 10th in Las Vegas, editor's note). But the problem is that we are starting from a bad position on the day when McLaren was weak. We would have liked to take more points from them today.“A few weeks ago, the newspaper Mark indicated that Sergio Perez would keep his seat next season thanks to the arrival of sponsors who would pay his salary in full and inject an additional 20 million to finance other drivers in the Red Bull sector. Bringing money into the coffers or having two drivers with results on the track: Red Bull will have to decide.
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