Helmut Marko has spilled on the decision to retain Sergio Perez at Red Bull for the remainder of F1 2024, as he adds on other drivers.
In the lead-up to the summer break, the biggest question that was left to be answered was the future of Perez with Red Bull. Even though the Mexican insisted about staying on, the reports suggested otherwise with Marko and Christian Horner also hinting on discussion.
The sole topic wasn’t just about Perez but other things as well, but Red Bull through media took the opportunity to clarify that the Mexican will stay on until the rest of the 2024 F1 season. It was natural to use media as they couldn’t relay a statement on their own.
The decision was received with a mixed response as expected. To add to it, reports circulated about Liberty Media’s intervention to keep Perez, citing the Mexico GP as one of the key markets for F1 to penetrate and stick to in 2024 and beyond.
But that point has been rubbished by Marko in his column on Speedweek platform. He expanded on what is desired by Red Bull of Perez and that looking at all of the other alternatives, the Mexican looked the best bet for the senior F1 team.
“Sergio Perez will continue to drive the Red Bull Racing car after the summer break, as there are now races on tracks where he was good last year and we are counting on stability,” wrote Marko. “He has also shown good performances from time to time, and at the last race weekend in Spa he was very fast on Saturday, finishing third.
“He was allowed to start from position 2 and according to the calculations, third place would have been possible. But we saw that his tires had deteriorated significantly more. He couldn’t push and on top of that we only had two sets of medium tires and one set of hard compound, while the competition had two sets of hard and one set of medium tires. That was perhaps a decisive point.
“Perez doesn’t need to get faster, just more consistent. And given the alternatives, he is still our best solution. Reports that his continued commitment is due to Liberty Media’s desire for him to race in Mexico are not true. They certainly want him to race in his home race, but our choice of driver is not based on Liberty Media’s intentions,” summed up Marko.
While talking about Perez, the Austrian took the chance to update on the happening with Liam Lawson as well. There will be an announcement from Red Bull’s end to get the Kiwi on the F1 grid, as links to Sauber/Audi has emerged in recent times.
He can still replace Daniel Ricciardo at Visa Cash App RB, especially considering that the Australian wasn’t picked up as a choice to replace Perez at Red Bull. There is only seats at Visa Cash App RB, Mercedes, Alpine and Sauber/Audi that remains to fill up.
Their F2 junior Isack Hadjar is likely to get the reserve role with both the F1 teams. “We will announce what happens next with Liam Lawson in September,” wrote Marko. “It has been planned for some time that he would be able to gain more Formula 1 experience in Imola.
“Even though the competition would like to use him on loan, he is not available for that. Our Formula 2 driver Isack Hadjar took his fourth victory in the highest Formula racing class in Spa. He clearly has the potential for Formula 1. We’ll see how things develop, but he will certainly take on some role. It could be that he will spend a year as a test and simulator driver, like Lawson.”
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