Helmut Marko and Red Bull team boss Christian Horner have offered contradicting views on Sergio Perez's future with Red Bull Racing for 2024.
Horner has been adamant that Perez's seat with the Milton Keynes-based outfit is contractually secure for next season, insisting that if the Mexican performs well, he'll be in line to stay with the team in 2025.
"We have a contract [with Perez]," Horner told Speedcafe. "We’re happy with Checo and he will be our driver next year."
However, in an interview this week with Austria's Kleine Zeitung, Marko made clear that Perez's future for 2024 with Red Bull was not as clear cut as Horner has made it out to be.
Marko suggested that a performance clause in the Mexican's contract potentially gives the right for Red Bull to terminate its relationship with Perez at the end of this season.
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"Nothing is 100 per cent certain in Formula 1, it just doesn’t exist," the Austrian stated. "There are always performance-related situations somewhere that need to be discussed.
"We’ll take a look and discuss how to proceed in Zandvoort, then we’ll know more."
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Furthermore, Marko revealed that during F1's summer break, Daniel Ricciardo - who returned to the fray with AlphaTauri in Hungary last month and who hopes to return to Red Bull at some point in the future - paid a visit to the Austrian in Graz.
"We saw each other, that's clear when he comes to Graz," said the 80-year-old who stopped short of revealing the contents of the two men's conversation.
Perez's fate could be sealed in the final ten races of the season. But it's no secret that Red Bull needs its second driver to be fighting consistently at the front of the field – which hasn't been Perez's case – in order to take points away from its rivals.
Marko said that it's only the tight battle between Mercedes, Aston Martin, Ferrari and McLaren that has made life comfortable for the bulls up ahead as the group's competitors keep taking points off each other, which has made Perez's underperformance almost a moot point.
"Our biggest advantage is that the pursuers are constantly changing, which automatically makes us appear stronger and the chances for Checo also increase," commented Marko.
As for Ricciardo, the Austrian is relying on Ricciardo's experience to help AlphaTauri's development.
"There will be a major update at AlphaTauri and you will see whether the direction is right," said Marko. "We hope that will be the case and that it will soon be possible to score points.
"A driver like Ricciardo will of course help you in this situation enormous, it tells you exactly what is good and which updates are useless."
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