All the signs are pointing towards a forthcoming renewal of Sergio Perez's contract, as suggested by Dr Helmut Marko. As the expiration of his current contract looms at the end of 2024, Perez finds himself in a delicate position, especially with the well-performing Carlos Sainz also desperate for a competitive new team.
To date in 2024, Perez has made notable progress in getting closer to the performance levels of his Red Bull Racing colleague, Max Verstappen. "Probably because he's out of contract!" joked Christian Horner in Shanghai. "No - I think he's worked hard over the winter, perhaps with a slight change to his approach to the weekends."
Perez has acknowledged that in 2024, the settings of his vehicle have been greatly aligned with those of Verstappen's. "Like Carlos would say," he said with a grin, "we stopped inventing."
The primary hurdle in finalizing Perez's contract for 2025 with Red Bull is his desire for a commitment extending beyond one year.
From the standpoint of "performance and the harmony", there seems little chance of disruption within the team's current winning dynamic. "Checo's second place proves that this year is his strongest season to date," Dr Helmut Marko commented on Servus TV post-qualifying in Shanghai.
"That is of course very important for the future."
Marko openly states that Sainz is also under consideration. "Of course," he remarked. "You always want to have the best people in the team. But with Checo's performance and the harmony, it's just right."
"The two of them get along well and are relatively similar now in terms of setup, which of course makes all the technical work easier because the data is comparable," added Red Bull's octogenarian advisor from Austria.
"So at the moment, a lot or almost everything speaks in Checo's favour."
However, Horner indicates that Red Bull is in no hurry to finalize the agreement. "Not very," he answered in China when queried on how close Red Bull is to deciding. "We're in a situation where we're very happy with our two drivers, but we don't need to make a final decision until much later in the year."
