Sergio Perez has secured an extension on his contract to continue driving for Red Bull.
The 34-year-old has won five races for the team since he joined them from Racing Point in 2021. He finished runner-up to team mate Max Verstappen in the world championship last year.
His last contract extension came in May 2022, when he agreed a two-year deal taking him up to the end of this season.
Team principal Christian Horner said “now is an important time to confirm our line-up for 2025.”
“We are very pleased to continue working together with Checo. Continuity and stability are important for the team and both Checo and Max are a successful and robust partnership, securing our first ever one-two finish for the team in the championship last year.”
Perez’s form dipped during last season and Perez has gone more than a year without winning a race. The spell of poor results in the middle of 2023 appeared to cast doubt on his future at the team. However Red Bull kept him in place for this season and his form improved at the beginning of the new season.
“Checo has had a strong start to 2024 with second places in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Japan and then his podium in China,” Horner continued. “The past few races have been tough, there is convergence on the grid, but we are confident in Checo and look forward to his return to proven form and performance, that we so often see.
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“Last year was a unicorn season and we will need to work hard to retain our titles, but we are assured in our line up and with the team as a whole, which is imperative in what is shaping up to be a close fought championship this year.”
Verstappen won the world championship for the first time when Perez joined him in 2021. He was praised by the team for his role in the title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that year where he helped Verstappen by delaying his title rival Lewis Hamilton.
Further wins in 2022 earned Perez a two-year contract extension. But despite finishing second in the drivers’ championship last year to his team mate, Perez scored less than half Verstappen’s points tally. He endured a series of poor results through the season and won just two races compared to Verstappen’s 19.
Perez is yet to win a race so far in 2024, while Verstappen has taken the chequered flag first on five occasions, with Carlos Sainz Jnr, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc each winning one grand prix.
Perez said driving for Red…
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