Sergio Perez has secured a two-year contract extension at Pink Bull that may see him proceed to race for F1’s world champions till the top of the 2026 season.
The 34-year-old Mexican has been Max Verstappen’s team-mate since becoming a member of in 2021.
Perez’s renewal ends the hopes a number of drivers – together with Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo – had of becoming a member of the staff that has dominated F1 over the previous two years and continues to steer each world championships in 2024 regardless of a rising problem from rivals.
“Now is an important time to confirm our line-up for 2025 and we are very pleased to continue working together with Checo,” mentioned staff principal Christian Horner in a transfer that comes forward of the Canadian GP this weekend.
“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.”
Perez, who has claimed 5 of his six F1 profession wins at Pink Bull and helped them win the Constructors’ Championship in 2022 and 2023, mentioned: “I’m delighted to be staying right here to proceed our journey collectively and contribute to this staff’s nice historical past for 2 extra 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.”
Verstappen’s Pink Bull contract runs to the top of the 2028 season, though hypothesis lingers that the triple world champion may but depart sooner or later earlier than then with Mercedes’ Toto Wolff making public his critical curiosity in signing the Dutchman to interchange the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton.
Chatting with Sky Sports activities F1 on the latest Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Verstappen mentioned: “It’s like I say – I’m good, I’m relaxed, I’m happy and my contract is until 2028.”
Why two extra years for Perez?
Though it had change into more and more clear in latest weeks that Perez was edging in the direction of a contract renewal for 2025, the announcement of a two-year time period nonetheless represents one thing of a shock.
However Perez’s worth and contribution to the staff on and off monitor has usually been praised by Horner, who had all the time mentioned the seat remained the Mexican’s to lose.
With the staff choosing the continuity alternative subsequent to Verstappen, the prolonged deal means Perez will even keep on for the primary yr of F1’s new massive regulation change, when Pink Bull are creating their very own engine for the primary time.
With Pink Bull’s 2024 automobile once more proving dominant within the early races of this yr, Perez had began this season brightly and completed second to Verstappen in three of this season’s first 4 grands prix.
However, with Ferrari and McLaren particularly having closed the hole on Pink Bull since then, Perez has failed to complete on the rostrum within the final three races – and did not qualify within the prime 10 on the final two.
After dropping out of Q1 final day out in Monaco, Perez was concerned in an enormous crash on the primary lap of the race after contact with Kevin Magnussen’s Haas.
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There was an enormous crash between Sergio Perez and Haas’ Kevin Magnussen in the beginning of the Monaco Grand Prix, which additionally took out the automobile of Nico Hulkenberg.
Perez has slipped out of the highest 4 of the Verstappen-led Drivers’ Championship behind the Ferrari drivers and McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Horner referenced the Mexican’s latest dip in kind in Pink Bull’s assertion confirming the prolonged deal, though backed Perez to hit again.
“Checo has had a strong start to 2024 with second places in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Japan and then his podium in China,” added Horner.
“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.”
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Sergio Perez stays tight-lipped on his future after stating he handles his negotiations behind closed doorways with all the pieces remaining an possibility.
Perez added: “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 need to thank everybody for all of the belief they’re placing in me, it’s a lot and I need to pay it again with wonderful outcomes on monitor, and off monitor. I believe now we have lots of work to do, now we have much more championships to win collectively.”
Although Verstappen has been absolutely dominant in the team-mate head-to-head – Perez last out-qualified the Dutchman 26 races ago, at the 2023 Miami GP – Red Bull have been pleased with the generally harmonious intra-team dynamic between the two drivers during a period of stunning success at the team.
Perez famously performed a key function within the 2021 title-deciding Abu Dhabi, holding up race chief Hamilton mid-way by the race, earlier than the controversial Security Automotive conclusion that finally swung the title Verstappen’s method.
He completed fourth within the Drivers’ Championship in his debut season on the staff, enhancing to 3rd in 2022. He then completed runner-up to to Verstappen in 2023 regardless of a mid-season nosedive in kind that briefly appeared to name his fast future on the staff into query and, on the very least, ramp up the strain for a 2025 contract renewal.
What does this imply for the remainder of the driving force market?
Perez’s prolonged deal ends hopes Carlos Sainz had of becoming a member of the world champions.
The Spaniard, who has misplaced his Ferrari seat to Hamilton, had appeared within the working for a return to the Pink Bull secure after a powerful begin to the season however their choice to stay with Perez seems to have distilled Sainz’s 2025 choices right into a straight name between Williams and Sauber, who’re morphing into Audi for 2026.
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Talking on the Sky Sports activities F1 Podcast, David Croft and Simon Lazenby talk about potential locations for Carlos Sainz in 2025 following his exit from Ferrari.
After making his personal return to the Pink Bull fold final yr, initially as a 3rd driver earlier than taking up a race seat at RB, Ricciardo had described it as his “dream” to return to the senior outfit he left of his personal accord for Renault after 2018.
Nevertheless, Ricciardo’s candidature to interchange Perez has been undone by the type of RB team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, who has outperformed the skilled Australian up to now.
Regardless of that kind, Tsunoda himself has by no means been considered within the working for the principle Pink Bull staff as an alternative choice to Perez. Nonetheless, the in-form Japanese driver, who has scored 19 of RB’s 24 factors this season, has been linked with doable strikes to different groups.
9 seats stay unfilled on the 20-car 2025 grid.
Esteban Ocon’s end-of-season exit from Alpine was introduced on Monday.
Sky Sports activities F1’s dwell Canadian GP schedule
Thursday June 6
7.30pm: Drivers’ Press Convention
Friday June 7
6pm: Canadian GP Apply One (session begins at 6.30pm)
8pm: The F1 Present
9.45pm: Canadian GP Apply Two (session begins at 10pm)
Saturday June 8
5.15pm: Canadian GP Apply Three (session begins at 5.30pm)
8pm: Canadian GP Qualifying build-up
9pm: Canadian GP Qualifying
11pm: Ted’s Qualifying Pocket book
Sunday June 9
5.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday – Canadian GP build-up
7pm: THE CANADIAN GRAND PRIX
9pm: Chequered Flag – Canadian GP response
10pm: Ted’s Pocket book
System 1 leaves Europe for the ultimate time earlier than the summer season break because the championship strikes on to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix. Watch each session on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve this weekend dwell on Sky Sports activities F1, with Sunday’s race at 7pm. Stream each F1 race and extra with a NOW Sports activities Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime
