Perez expects clarity on Red Bull future ‘within a month’

Sergio Perez says he expects to have his future at Red Bull to be clarified one way or the other within the next month, although the Milton Keynes outfit appears in no rush to decide its line-up for 2025.

Perez’s current contract with Red Bull will expire at the end of the season, but amidst an F1 drivers’ market that is in overdrive, the Mexican is but one of several high-profile candidates potentially vying for a plum drive at the championship winning squad.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso are also in the market for a top seat, and it’s likely that both drivers, or rather their managers have held exploratory talks with Red Bull.

But for now, as dominant team’s incumbent, Perez seems to have an edge over his colleagues thanks to his strong start to his 2024 campaign which has seen him score three runner-up spots behind Max Verstappen in four races.

"I'm very relaxed about it. It's my 14th season in F1. Whatever comes next, I'm really pleased with what I've done in the sport so far and I believe it will be a matter of time," Perez told Sky Sports F1, addressing his F1 future.

"The driver market is moving and in the next few weeks, there will be a lot of movement for sure. I expect in a month to really know what I'm doing next year."

• Read also: F1i's Driver Ratings for the 2024 Japanese GP

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko recently said that Perez only needed to keep up his strong form to be handed a new contract for 2025.

This Austrian’s view was echoed by Red Bull team boss Christian Horner. However, the latter hinted at his team taking a relaxed approach to deciding its line-up for next season.

"The whole driver market seems to be very early this year," said Horner.

"Everybody seems to be rushing around and we're only four races into the year. We are not in a huge rush and obviously there's a significant amount of interest in our cars, as you would expect.

"Checo has the priority and it's going to be a few more races yet before we start to think about next year.

"It's his seat to lose,” Horner added. “He's doing a great job and qualified within a tenth of a second from Max. It was by far his best qualifying performance around at Suzuka.

"You can see his confidence is growing. His performance in the race, again, was very strong. He's doing exactly what was needed of him."

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter