Sergio Perez is an embattled Red Bull driver according to team boss Christian Horner, yet the Mexican appears remarkably confident in his F1 future, insisting he'll be on the grid in 2025.
After a disastrous home race in Mexico City, where Perez finished last, Horner alluded to Red Bull’s wavering patience.
The Briton minced no words as he delivered a statement that sounded far from reassuring regarding Perez’s future.
“As a team, we need to have both cars scoring points and that’s the nature of F1,” Horner commented.
“I think we’ve done everything that we can to support Checo, and we’ll continue to do so in Brazil next weekend, but there comes a point in time that you can only do so much.”
The Red Bull chief’s words hint at an impending reckoning for Perez, whose future in F1 seems more tenuous with each passing race.
Nevertheless, Perez remains adamant. Questioned on Horner’s view, and whether it reflected an upcoming dire fate, the F1 veteran confidently dismissed the swirling rumors about his exit.
“No, not at all. It’s just rumours, at the end of the day,” he told the media, quoted by Formula1.com. “You will see me in Vegas, you will see me next year. I’m not the one that worries about it.”
Clearly, Perez’s stance fails to align with the uncertainty coming from the Red Bull camp, where even advisor Helmut Marko has hinted at doubts surrounding Perez’s future with the team.
When asked specifically about these statements, Perez doubled down: “Well, I know I am [going to be here]. That’s all I can say.”
Perez’s present focus is set on this weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix, though his resolve may mask a more grim reality. He seemed eager to move past his dreadful Mexico City display.
“What happened, it’s in the past,” he said. “We move on, and we take those first 10 laps as a hope.
“We understood what happened in qualifying, we saw issues, we tried to fix it for Sunday, and I think we went in the right direction so that’s definitely promising.”
Yet looking forward, Perez acknowledges the steep challenge posed by competitors McLaren and Ferrari, whose recent performances have edged out Red Bull.
“We understood a lot of the issues we had in Mexico, on my side when you look at my first 10 laps of Mexico they were looking good and competitive,” he repeated.
“But we definitely have to find [something] – when you look at the pace from McLaren and Ferrari, they seem to be in another level in the last two races.
“I really hope that we can be in the mix here. We understood a few of the issues, but it’s just not very clear how we’re going to solve them.
“It’s a different track, the altitude probably had a bigger impact on us [in Mexico], so we’ll see. I think tomorrow we will have a pretty good idea on where we are.”
Perez’s struggles, alongside the visible frustration from Red Bull’s leadership, suggest that merely improving might not be enough to cement his position beyond 2024.
Even as he clings to optimism, Red Bull’s repeated statements leave his status hanging in the balance.
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