Sergio Perez has firmly rejected suggestions he could find himself without a Formula 1 drive next year despite having extended his Red Bull contract in June.
His most recent contract extension should keep him at Red Bull until the end of 2026. However Perez’s performances since then have prompted constant speculation he could lose his place at the team.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said in July Perez’s poor points-scoring was “unsustainable”, but told the team’s staff two races later he will remain their driver for next year.
Daniel Ricciardo, who Red Bull rehired and appointed to their second team RB to assess his potential as a replacement for Perez, was dropped after the last race in Singapore. His replacement Liam Lawson has now been tipped by some as a potential replacement for Perez.
However during the four-week gap since the last round Perez dispelled speculation about his future on social media. “Sometimes people just link these rumours and a lot of people pick it up, especially back in Mexico, with the Mexican Grand Prix coming up I didn’t want my fans to be misled into false information,” he explained.
“I just wanted to make it clear that I 100% will be here next year,” Perez told the official F1 channel. “I have my contract and I will fulfil it and that’s not in my mind. In my mind is to sort out the issues we have for the moment with the car.”
Lawson, who made his F1 debut last year, is the third driver to join the grid since the season started, along with Oliver Bearman and France Colapinto. Meanwhile Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Jack Doohan have also secured F1 drives for next year.
Perez said he is impressed by the quality of F1’s newest arrivals. “It’s great to see these new drivers coming in and being competitive straight away,” he said.
“These days, the drivers are arriving a lot more prepared than when I started. They’re being with Formula 1 teams for pretty much their entire career so they’ve been to a lot of F1 races, they know how it works and they’re really up to speed straight away. So it’s great to see them.”
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2024 United States Grand Prix
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