Written by Vyas Ponnuri
Sergio Perez has penned a new deal with reigning champions Red Bull Racing taking him until the end of the 2026 Formula One season with the team, and into the dawn of the new era of engine regulations.
The Mexican, despite experiencing a slight dip in form over the past couple of weekends, has the faith and backing of the senior management at Red Bull, and has been given another year at the constructors' champions.
Red Bull's decision to repose faith in their trusted driver has been taken early into the season, with the driver market expected to be buzzing with action post the summer break in August, with as many as eight seats expected to be up for grabs ahead of the next season. Securing Perez's future early on ensures the Mexican is able to perform freely, and without any worry of securing a seat for next season.
The team faced a major toss up between their incumbent Perez and Carlos Sainz, the Ferrari driver having become a free agent for 2025, as he departs the scarlet red team at the end of 2024. Sainz has been on a strong run of form ever since he joined Ferrari, consistently securing podiums, and was the only non-Red Bull winner in 2023, denying them a shot at a 100% win record.
Sainz offers similar skill sets to Perez - A strong, consistent driver, capable of recovering poor qualifying sessions, an excellent driver on race day, along with a wise head.
However, any chatter of Sainz linked to a return alongside Verstappen for 2025, exactly a decade after he first raced alongside the Dutchman, didn't amount to a race seat at the team, and Red Bull instead preferred to retain Perez alongside their triple world champion Max Verstappen.
And there's plenty of reason to retain Perez. He brings plenty to the team, both on track and off the track, his publicity helping Red Bull expand their market in Mexico. Perez brings sponsorship money to the team, in addition, to help with the budget for the team.
On track, the Mexican has played a stellar role as a team player, from aiding Verstappen's charge for his maiden title, to picking up victories and podiums in Red Bull's constructors' championships in 2022 and 2023.
The Mexican has taken five victories for Red Bull Racing, stepping on the podium 29 times in a four-year stint with the team, playing a crucial role in securing 14 one-two finishes for the team over the past three seasons.
The Mexican racer also finished runner-up to his teammate last season, making it the first instance of Red Bull having both drivers finish 1-2 in the championship standings, a rare feat for any team to achieve.
Perez's best drive as a Red Bull racer was arguably his race to victory in Singapore back in 2022, when he managed to pull out a lead on Charles Leclerc in a wet-dry race, winning despite being slapped with a five-second penalty post-race.
Another memorable drive by the Mexican was his victory at Monaco earlier that season, as he fended off a charging Carlos Sainz on fresher tyres, holding on in a close fight to take a special victory.
Despite failing to make it into Q3 on multiple occasions for the team through 2023 and 2024, and currently sitting fifth in the standings, well adrift of championship leader Verstappen, his consistency and ability to take victories on days when their champion racer wasn't at his finest, along with his marketability has fetched a new deal for the next two seasons in 2025 and 2026.
Perez was delighted to be staying on, and spoke of his new contract with the team:
“I am delighted to be staying here to continue our journey together and contribute to this team’s great history for two more years. Being part of the team is an immense challenge, and one I love.
“We have a great challenge this year and I have full trust in the whole team that the future is bright here and I am excited to be part of it.
“I want to thank everyone for all the trust they are putting in me, it is a lot and I want to pay it back with excellent results on track, and off track. I think we have a lot of work to do, we have a lot more championships to win together.”
Red Bull team boss Christian Horner added on to Perez's points, expressing pleasure to continue working with the Mexican:
“Now is an important time to confirm our line-up for 2025 and we are very pleased to continue working together with Checo.
“Continuity and stability are important for the team and both Checo and Max are a successful and robust partnership, securing our first ever one-two finish for the team in the championship last year.
“Checo has had a strong start to 2024 with second places in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Japan and then his podium in China. The past few races have been tough, there is convergence on the grid, but we are confident in Checo and look forward to his return to proven form and performance, that we so often see.
“Last year was a unicorn season and we will need to work hard to retain our titles, but we are assured in our line-up and with the team as a whole, which is imperative in what is shaping up to be a close fought championship this year.”
With a fresh deal under his belt, it will be interesting to see how Perez performs for the rest of the 2024 season, and into 2025, and becoming a prospect for Red Bull as they enter a new era with Ford badging on the power units at the rear of their cars.