Sergio Pérez is not going anywhere.
Red Bull announced on Tuesday that Perez had signed a two-year contract extension through the 2026 Formula 1 season. Perez was set to be a free agent at the end of the season.
“Now is an important time to confirm our 2025 lineup and we are very pleased to continue working together with Checo,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said in a statement. “Continuity and stability are important for the team and both Checo and Max (Verstappen) are a strong and successful partnership, which secured our first double for the team in the championship last year. Checo is off to a good start in 2024 with second places in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Japan and then his podium in China The last few races have been difficult, there is convergence on the grid, but we have confidence in Checo and hope he returns to his proven form and performance that we see so often. “
Perez was caught in a first-lap crash at Monaco after starting 16th following an elimination in the first round of qualifying. In the previous race at Imola he was eighth after starting 11th.
Perez’s future at Red Bull has been a bit murky since Max Verstappen became the most dominant driver in the series. As Verstappen has won 49 of 74 races and three championships since the start of 2022, Perez only has four wins in that span.
A season ago, Pérez finished second in the standings with two wins thanks to how dominant the Red Bull car was. Although he was on the fastest team in the series, Pérez had serious problems in qualifying. Perez’s average starting position was 9.3 and he placed 10th out of 20 drivers.
In the end, the speed of the car prevailed over the course of the race. As Verstappen had an absurd average of 1.3, Pérez was second in the series with 5.9.
Perez’s contract extension will likely keep Red Bull’s driver lineup intact for the next two seasons. Verstappen has a long-term contract with the team and rumors that Mercedes are pushing to attract Verstappen to replace Lewis Hamilton appear to be disappearing. Red Bull lead designer Adrian Newey announced that he would be leaving the team this season in the wake of the controversy surrounding Horner at the start of the season.
With Perez remaining at Red Bull, Carlos Sainz’s free agent options continue to dwindle for the 2025 season. The Ferrari driver will be replaced by Hamilton. Sauber, soon to be Audi’s official team in 2026, and Williams have been mentioned as possible destinations for him. Mercedes may be a long shot, although the team could promote 17-year-old junior driver Kimi Antonelli to replace Hamilton next season.
