Christian Horner will let Sergio Perez ‘come to own conclusions’ about future

Christian Horner says Red Bull will let Sergio Perez “come to his own conclusions” about his F1 future with the team.

The pressure has continued to pile on Perez after he endured another torrid weekend at the Qatar Grand Prix, which ended in retirement after a spin. That came 24 hours after Red Bull were left baffled by the Mexican’s botched start from the pit lane in the sprint race.

Perez is under contract for 2025 but his future is set to be discussed during a meeting of key Red Bull shareholders following the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix next week.

“Look, Checo has had a very tough year. Obviously the points table are what they are,” Red Bull team principal Horner told media including Crash.net after Sunday’s race in Qatar.

“We’re very much focused on really supporting him to the checkered flag in Abu Dhabi. Obviously it’s not an enjoyable situation for Checo, being in this position with speculation every week.

“He’s old enough and wise enough to know what the situation is, and yeah, let’s see where we are after Abu Dhabi.”

When asked by Crash.net to clarify whether he meant Red Bull will leave the decision down to Perez, Horner said: “I’m going to let Checo come to his own conclusions.

“Nobody’s forcing him one way or another, I’m going to let him… it’s not a nice situation for him to obviously be in.”

Pushed on what Red Bull would do if Perez decided that he wanted to stay, as per his contract, Horner replied: “Let’s get to the end of Abu Dhabi and see where we’re at.”

Red Bull hold Perez in ‘highest of regards’

During his four seasons with Red Bull, Perez has claimed five grand prix victories and helped the team clinch back-to-back constructors’ world titles in 2022 and 2023.

But a terrible run of form this season, combined with increased competition from rivals, has seen Red Bull slip to third behind McLaren and Ferrari in the teams’ standings, only further increasing the pressure on Perez.

“Checo’s contributed a huge amount to this team in the four years he’s been here,” Horner added. “The world championship Max achieved in 2021, the Constructors’ championships in 22 and 23.

“Obviously this year’s been particularly hard, he’s won five grands prix for us, and he’s had some outstanding performances in races like Singapore, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, to name but a few.

“Everybody holds Checo in the highest of regards and respect, but obviously the situation we’re in is as painful for him as it is for the team.”