Photo Credit: Red Bull content pool
Sergio Pérez has extended his contract with Red Bull until 2026. A two-year extension that came as a surprise to many people because of the potential in the driver market this year. What motivated Red Bull to choose Pérez for another two seasons? And why is Pérez the smart choice for Red Bull?
Teamwork and Team Orders
The philosophy Red Bull takes with their drivers and the pairings they seek plays a large role in why retaining the Mexican was so important. Over the years, the Milton Keynes team has made it clear they are unafraid to call team orders and have a clear number one and two driver.
Famously, we saw it with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, with incidents like Multi-21. It happened again with Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo, where we saw moments such as Baku 2017. The growing tensions that eventually led to Riccardo leaving the team. Finally, Red Bull showed their ruthlessness with both performance and team orders with Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly as teammates of Verstappen.
The balance between team player and performance has been a priority for Red Bull and has helped them win many championships. Notably 2021, where Pérez first acquired the nickname of ‘minister of defence’ for holding up Hamilton.
When Perez’s team player qualities are compared to other available drivers, the reasoning behind the extension become clearer.
Carlos Sainz, particularly, has been mentioned in connection to the seat. However, the 2023 and 2024 season showed he was willing to put his own result ahead of his team/teammates at Ferrari. No doubt that was a point of contention in discussions for the 2025 seat.
Performance and Consistency
There are many people who don’t believe Perez’s performance in the last few seasons is deserving of the seat.
Although the Mexican hasn’t been on the level of his championship teammate, he has maintained 2nd or 3rd in the drivers’ championship. Assisting the team in gaining the constructors’ championship. Taking both podiums and wins. Therefore, he is doing his job in the Milton Keynes team.
Again, when you look at the other options for the seat, Perez is the biggest guarantee of performance and consistency.
Daniel Ricciardo, a favourite for the seat last year, hasn’t performed at the level needed to move up to the primary team.
Yuki Tsunoda has been consistent, but Christian Horner, the team principal, remains uninterested in promoting him.
Sainz has performance and consistency, but his teamwork abilities still leave Perez as the best option for the team.
The Future of Red Bull
Finally, a vital reason Perez got a two-year deal instead of just one is the future of the team. Max Verstappen has made it clear he is not interested in staying in the sport with an uncompetitive car. His contract expires in 2028 and he has made many comments about leaving the sport earlier.
Right now, Red Bull doesn’t have a future beyond Verstappen. Currently in their junior team they have Yuki Tsunoda, who they have no interest in moving to Red Bull, and Daniel Ricciardo, a driver at the back end of his career.
They do have Liam Lawson, who proved himself in his debut last year at Singapore, knocking out Verstappen in qualifying and gaining points in the race. However, Lawson is yet to be given a seat. With rumours he won’t be on the grid for 2025, one does wonder if he’ll look for a seat elsewhere.
Red Bull needs to secure their junior drivers. As well as figuring out which has the possibility of becoming Red Bull drivers.
Giving Sergio Pérez a two-year contract extension gives them 2 years to see how their juniors in F2, Lawson, Ricciardo and other rookies coming in, all perform. Enabling them to assess their options without having to rush any decisions. A position you could argue Mercedes has put themselves in with Antonelli because of Hamilton’s premature departure.
A special mention and reason to keep Perez is also the sponsorships he brings in. Sponsors that were valued as roughly $33 million in 2023.
So, although keeping Pérez may not be as exciting as promoting Tsunoda or bringing in a surprise rookie, it’s clear it was a smart choice for the Milton Keynes team.
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