Sergio Perez's key backer has spoken out in defense of the Mexican driver, amid growing rumors that he could be dropped by Red Bull at the end of the season.
Recent suggestions that Perez would use his home Grand Prix in Mexico to announce his retirement from Formula 1 have proven to be unfounded.
Even Red Bull team boss Christian Horner acknowledged Perez's immense local and commercial appeal. "I think he's endorsing every product from Uber Eats to toilet roll this weekend," Horner joked. "It's impressive how many endorsements he's managed to line up for himself."
Perez's financial contributions to Red Bull, estimated at over $30 million a year, largely come from sponsors linked to Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim's commercial network. Slim, speaking on Saturday, firmly backed Perez: "I think Checo has made it clear, and I do not understand why there are so many doubts. He has a contract, he has made that clear. Christian has made that clear."
Horner, however, also agreed with Perez's self-assessment of his 2024 season, which the Mexican driver recently described as "terrible." Horner said, "I think he summed it up perfectly. It's been a bad year for Checo.
"But, look, Checo's our driver. He's contracted for 2025. He's competitive. He's hungry. He's not happy with where he currently is. So as a team, we're doing our very best to support him."
However, frustrations are apparent on both sides. Perez, after the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, hinted that he did not receive the full benefit of Red Bull's latest upgrade package. In Mexico, he echoed similar complaints, pointing to persistent issues with his car.
"I have the same problem as in Austin," Perez explained. "I just can't slow down the car. That's something we as a team have to stay on top of. I haven't been able to stop the car for three races, actually."
He continued, "If we can't make sure the car stops at the right time, it's not going to get better. It's very disappointing because as a driver, you know there are certain limitations, but this is just too much."
Meanwhile, many F1 insiders believe Liam Lawson is the leading candidate to replace Perez for 2025. Although Yuki Tsunoda, Perez's teammate at Red Bull's junior team, has been given the opportunity to test a Red Bull Racing car at the post-Abu Dhabi session, it is Lawson who seems to have the upper hand.
Marko expressed frustration with Tsunoda's qualifying performance on Saturday, commenting, "That was an unnecessary crash." As for the upcoming Abu Dhabi test, Marko added, "This will be Yuki's first time testing a Red Bull car, so we'll see how it goes."
Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies also weighed in: "Yuki's contract is not just with RB, it's with Red Bull. And my job is to develop RB drivers to be able to race in top teams. We are very happy that he is testing the Red Bull."
