Sergio Perez will remain Max Verstappen’s Red Bull Formula 1 team-mate after the summer break, Motorsport.com understands.
The Mexican’s future was one of the topics discussed on Monday in a meeting of the team’s management, including team principal Christian Horner and advisor Helmut Marko.
But while there has been no official outcome of its team meeting, Motorsport.com understands Horner has addressed the team’s staff at its Milton Keynes factory saying Perez will be in the car when the 2024 season resumes with the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August.
Alongside team-mate Verstappen, who scored seven grand prix wins so far, Perez has found it much harder to wring performance out of Red Bull’s RB20.
And with Red Bull’s pace advantage disappearing, Perez’s enduring struggles since May have opened the door for McLaren to mount a title challenge, with the Woking-based squad moving to 42 points behind in the standings.
After another difficult Sunday for Perez in Belgium, in which he dropped from second on the grid to eighth before being promoted to seventh following George Russell’s disqualification, his chances of remaining with the team appeared to dwindle, but it appears the 34-year-old has now been handed a lifeline to turn around his form.
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Speaking on Sunday evening, Horner said: “What’s frustrating is that nobody wants to see Checo struggle. Everybody wants to see him succeed, because it hurts seeing him in the situation that he is in.
“Nobody wants to make that decision, obviously you guys talk about it every day. But in the team we want to get him going.”
After another frustrating race, Perez said he was done addressing incessant rumours about his future.
“I think we have too much going on in the team and a lot of things that we have to focus on, and we cannot waste any energy with all this speculation,” he said.
“This is the last time I will speak about the future, so just to make it clear for everyone, I will not be speaking anymore. I will not answer any more questions about the future.”
