Christian Horner disputes Sergio Perez's claim over quick resolution to F1 future

Christian Horner has disputed Sergio Perez’s claim that his F1 future with Red Bull will be resolved imminently.

Red Bull have still yet to announce which driver will be partnering Max Verstappen for the 2025 F1 season.

After his strong start to the year, Perez is thought to be the front runner, while Red Bull are considering Carlos Sainz.

Helmut Marko confirmed ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix that Red Bull have held talks with Sainz but would be unwilling to “match” Audi’s “lucrative” offer.

On Thursday in Shanghai, Perez stated that he expects a “quick conversation” about his future and that it will be sorted in the next few weeks.

However, Horner has poured cold water on this claim on Friday in China.

"Not very [close to announcing], I am afraid," Horner said. "It is incredible that we are at race five and there's so much talk already about drivers for next year.

"We're in a situation where we're very happy with our two drivers, but don't need to make a decision until much later in the year.

"Max is on a long-term contract, and Checo is out of contract, but driving exceptionally well so far this season.”

Horner made it clear that Red Bull “aren’t in a particular rush” to decide who Verstappen's teammate will be.

"Sergio of course would like to make an announcement tomorrow undoubtedly, but we as a team aren't in a particular rush,” he added.

"We're in a fortunate position where many drivers would obviously like to drive for the team, but we're happy with the pairing that we have.

"We just want to make sure that the level of consistency that Checo started the season is maintained and in due course, we will evaluate those options.

"But as I say, at this point in time, we're very happy with the line-up that we have, so there is no imminent rush to announce the full driver line-up for 2025."