Crucial Red Bull shareholders meeting to decide Sergio Perez’s fate

Sergio Perez’s F1 future is set to be decided during a Red Bull shareholders meeting following the conclusion of the 2024 season.

The Mexican is under contract for 2025 after signing an extension earlier this year but a miserable campaign has seen his future once again become the subject of intense speculation.

Red Bull stood by Perez over the summer when his form nosedived, but his failure to turn things around has left his future with the team hanging in the balance.

A whopping 251-point gap to teammate Max Verstappen has hurt Red Bull’s chances of retaining the constructors’ championship, with the Milton Keynes-based squad slipping to third place in the standings.

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has revealed a meeting will take place after the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to determine Perez’s future.

"There will be a meeting after Abu Dhabi and the result of this meeting will be presented to the shareholders and they will then decide what the driver situation for both teams will look like for next year," Marko told ORF.

"I don't know the exact gap now, but I think Checo has over 200 points less than Max. And then it's clear that the constructors' title is no longer possible…so if Sergio was anywhere near [Lewis] Hamilton and [George] Russell or Ferrari or even McLaren, then we would be well ahead again.”

Perez, who endured another woeful weekend in Las Vegas, suffering a Q1 elimination in 16th before only being able to score one point in the grand prix, has insisted he will return next season.

But Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has admitted that Perez’s place at the team is not guaranteed.

"We have drivers under contract, and we have drivers with options that remain between the company and the drivers involved. And there's nothing to say on that. But if there was something to say, I'd tell you,” he said.

"I mean, obviously, a single point from Checo. It was a good drive from him, a good recovery. But the problem is, we're starting out of position on the day that McLaren were weak. We would have liked to have taken more points out of them today."

Red Bull could opt to promote either Yuki Tsunoda, who will test this year’s RB20 in the end-of-season test in Abu Dhabi, or Liam Lawson from their sister team RB.

Williams stand-in Franco Colapinto, who has impressed since replacing Logan Sargeant but does not have a full-time seat for 2025, has also been mooted as a possible alternative.