Red Bull team boss Christian Horner insists Sergio Perez "will be our driver in 2024", putting to rest once and for all the speculation surrounding the Mexican's future.
Perez traded wins with Max Verstappen in the first four races of the season, but a performance slump that started last spring and that extended into the summer prompted conjecture that Red Bull could replace the 33-year-old at the end of the year.
Horner confirmed Perez's presence in the team for 2024 on multiple occasions, but recent comments by Red Bull motorsport boss Helmut Marko, who insisted that Perez's seat was not one hundred per cent secure, revived the speculation.
Marko's comments came against the backdrop of Daniel Ricciardo's return to the grid with AlphaTauri in Hungary last month, a move seen by many as a full-scale evaluation that could pave the way for the Aussie's return to Red Bull Racing.
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But on Sunday at Zandvoort, Horner clarified once and for all Red Bull's position regarding Perez.
"Checo's situation for next year is clear," Horner stated. "He's a Red Bull Racing driver. We have an agreement with him.
"Irrelevant of agreements, we're pleased with the job that he's doing. You saw his drive today, he was unlucky with the pit lane speed limiter [which cost Perez a five-second penalty that dropped him off the podium to fourth].
"He's second in the world championship, he's the only driver rather than Max to have won grands prix this year.
"It's easy to beat up on him when the barometer is so high on the other side, but he will be our driver in 2024."
Horner said that Verstappen's display in his home race last weekend was yet another testament to his unassailable brilliance.
"Max is in a period of his career where he's just simply untouchable and I don't think there's any driver on the grid that would be able to achieve what he's been doing in that car," he added.
"Being his team-mate is probably in some respects the most unenviable job to have because the barometer is so high.
"You've got to look at the performance on the timesheet and the results sheet. If Max hadn't been there, Checo would have won another four or five races.
"So, he's doing his job. He's second in the world championship. You saw his performance today. He was unlucky to get the speeding fine. And hopefully he can add to his wins before the end of the year."
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