Red Bull’s Logical Choice: Extending Sergio Perez’s Contract
Former Formula 1 driver Giedo van der Garde believes it was a “logical” decision for Red Bull Racing to extend Sergio Perez’s contract, despite recent challenges for the Mexican driver.
The announcement of Perez’s two-year extension comes amid a period where Perez has faced difficulties in matching teammate Max Verstappen’s pace. However, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner expressed confidence in Perez’s ability to bounce back to his usual form.
“Given his looming Ferrari exit, Carlos Sainz was clearly looking into replacing Perez for 2025,” van der Garde noted, suggesting that Sainz may consider a temporary stint at Williams to keep his options open for 2026.
Van der Garde highlighted the potential clash between Sainz and Verstappen, emphasizing Red Bull’s preference for a harmonious team dynamic with Verstappen as the lead driver.
“Sainz would have never worked there,” van der Garde explained. “Then you’d get cocky behavior between him and Verstappen, and that just doesn’t work.”
As the second driver alongside Verstappen, van der Garde believes Perez can still achieve strong results while maintaining team unity.
“As the second driver, he (Perez) can still win a few races, finish second or third in the championship, and your market value remains good,” van der Garde added. “So it’s a logical choice. We knew this was coming. He’s just a super-good second driver.”
In addition to sporting considerations, van der Garde highlighted the commercial benefits of retaining Perez, particularly his popularity in Mexico and the potential impact on Red Bull’s energy drink sales market in the region.
“He is very interesting for Red Bull for the energy drink sales market there,” van der Garde noted, suggesting that commercial factors may have influenced Red Bull’s decision-making process.
Overall, van der Garde’s insights shed light on the multi-faceted considerations behind Red Bull’s decision to extend Perez’s contract, emphasizing both sporting and commercial factors.