Red Bull has confirmed that Sergio Perez will continue driving for the team for the next two seasons, putting an end to speculation over their 2025 lineup.
Red Bull Racing has granted Sergio Perez a two-year contract extension that guarantees the Mexican a drive alongside Max Verstappen until the 2026 season, the team officially announced on Tuesday.
Perez has enjoyed his most successful seasons in F1 since joining the Milton Keynes-based outfit at the end of 2020. He ended the 2023 season in second place in the Drivers’ Championship, marking the first time Red Bull had ever posted a one-two finish in the title race.
The 34-year-old racer has claimed five race wins with Red Bull, which make up his six career victories. He boasts three pole positions, 29 podium finishes with the reigning champions over the past three years.
However, 2024 has been a very different and challenging campaign for the Mexican. He made an impressive start to the year, finishing second in the first two rounds before finding trouble maintaining his momentum in Australia, where he finished fifth.
Red Bull was on a roll in Japan, as Perez recovered to take P4 and conclude the Shanghai race on the bottom step of the podium. However, in Miami he had trouble keeping up the pace, only finishing in P5, before being elevated to P4 following a time penalty for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
His performance at Imola was underwhelming as he started the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix race outside the top 10 and only finished eighth.
Perez was unable to qualify higher than P18 in the last round in Monaco. He faced an afternoon of challenges given the complex Monte Carlo layout, which offers little room for overtakes. Unfortunately his race was cut short on the first lap after he crashed with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen.
It was anticipated that the six-time Grand Prix winner would perhaps be forced to accept a one-year contract, with Red Bull keeping its options open for 2026, the first year of Formula 1’s next-generation cars and engines.
Despite this, there was never any real suggestion that the team was looking to replace Perez who also brings a considerable amount of sponsorship to the team through his Mexican background.
“I am really happy to commit my future to this great Team, it is a challenge like no other racing for Oracle Red Bull Racing, both on track and off track,” Perez said.
“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.”
His last contract extension came in May 2022, when he agreed a two-year deal taking him up to the end of this season.
Red Bull CEO and Team Principal Christian Horner added: “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.”
Perez is currently fifth in the Drivers’ Standings, 107 points behind teammate Max Verstappen’s 169 points.
With his new contract signing he puts an end to any speculation that Carlos Sainz might join Red Bull, while RBs Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda are no longer in the running for the seat.
