Internal disagreement claim over Sergio Perez, temporary replacement suggested

Sergio Perez’s race seat is reportedly the source of internal disagreements at Red Bull.

F1-Insider reports that Christian Horner and Helmut Marko have opposing views on what to do with Perez.

Horner wants to keep faith in the under-performing driver while Marko favours getting rid, the report claims.

It is also claimed that a “clearly defined plan” existed last week in Brazil that meant Perez could lose his race seat if he was unable to support teammate Max Verstappen’s title bid.

RB’s Liam Lawson or Yuki Tsunoda were on standby to step into Perez’s car, with Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar being promoted from F2 to F1 immediately.

Although Perez was a lacklustre 11th at the F1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, Verstappen’s brilliant win enabled him to extend his championship lead over Lando Norris to 62 points with three rounds remaining.

Perez is contracted for 2025 after penning a new deal earlier this year, when Red Bull intended to reaffirm faith in him.

But his form has nosedived ever since, and his lack of points have allowed McLaren and Ferrari to overtake Red Bull in the constructors’ championship.

Lawson, Tsunoda and Williams’ Franco Colapinto are options to replace Perez as Verstappen’s teammate either next season.