Sergio Perez shows significant early-season form, challenging teammate Verstappen, with Red Bull cautious about early 2025 discussions.
At the start of this season, Sergio Perez is proving to be closer to Max Verstappen, especially in a fast lap, although the Mexican still struggles to match the race pace of his teammate.
To explain this, Christian Horner, the team director, agrees with Dr. Helmut Marko’s analysis: Perez is progressing without experimenting and getting lost in settings, focusing less on what the triple world champion is doing.
“You tend to dismiss him, but he is doing an excellent job.”
“He has approached this season with a new mindset, he is relaxed, and he drives the car very well.”
“He is not focused on his teammate, it’s a different approach, and in the first five races, we have seen very good performance from him.”
“He is driving well, his confidence is growing, and I hope he can convert this into good results.”
“He is an important part of the team and it’s about working collectively. I think he has excellent technical support around him and the team is doing a good job. He no longer gets lost in the settings and has returned to what he loves.”
Horner admits that the prospect of being ousted from his Red Bull seat must help motivate Perez.
“He feels comfortable in the team, he doesn’t feel the pressure. But he knows his contract ends at the end of this season and he is driving for his future.”
“He is thus responding to the pressure in the best possible way and I think we see this with some drivers in their way of reacting to pressure while others sometimes suffer.”
“He has changed some things in his approach and he is driving really well.”
However, according to Horner, Red Bull is not rushing to sign him.
“Not really,” he replied when asked how close Red Bull was to making a decision. “We are in a situation where we are very satisfied with our two drivers, but we won’t need to make a final decision until much later in the year.”
In terms of performance and harmony, the team does not seem likely to upset its situation according to Dr. Helmut Marko who, at least officially, always has the last word regarding the drivers to line up in the Red Bull teams.
“Checo is proving that this year is his best season so far. That is of course very important for the future.”
However, Marko does not hide that Sainz is also considered.
“Of course. You always want to have the best on the team.”
“But with Checo’s performance and harmony, it’s perfect.”
“The two get along well and are now relatively similar in terms of setup, which of course makes all the technical work easier because the data is comparable. So, for now, almost everything speaks in favor of Checo.”
Perez Impresses at Red Bull, 2025 Talks Premature. Perez Impresses at Red Bull, 2025 Talks Premature
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