Denigrated, belittled, on certain occasions and even reviled by some facile people: yet Red Bull keeps him. Sergio Perez remains. He was in the air, it was already said before Monte Carlo. What we couldn’t honestly imagine is that the renewal would be for two years. One was expected, if anything one plus an option, in favor of the team which was believed to be able to retain the possibility of hiring someone else for 2026 and the start of the next technical cycle. But no, with the new power units and the new aerodynamics there will still be the stainless Checo. Which will therefore reach at least the sixth year of Redbullo, third most present ever, like the tetra-champion Vettel. Only poster boys Max Verstappen and Mark Webber stayed longer in Milton Keynes. “I’m really happy to entrust my future to this great team – said Checo – it’s a challenge like no other, both on and off the track. I am happy to stay here to continue our journey together and contribute to the great history of this team for another two years.”
in the eye of the storm
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Fifth in the standings, three GPs off the podium, Checo is subjected to tons of criticism. Especially because he is exposing Red Bull to some – unthinkable until a few weeks ago – vulnerability in the Constructors’ standings. Yet he remains and will remain. “This year we have a great challenge – he continued – and I have full faith in the whole team that the future here is bright and I am excited to be part of it. I want to thank everyone for all the trust they are placing in me, it’s a lot and I want to repay it with excellent results. We have many more championships to win together.” Perez stays because he doesn’t create (anymore) problems in a garage where there have been plenty of them for a few months now. Verstappen, convinced as he is that he is the strongest in the universe, never misses an opportunity to let the world know that he couldn’t care less about who is on the other side of the garage. And it seems difficult to imagine that Horner asked him, given their relationship these days. Especially since Horner has always been close to Perez. Sensitive to his fate at least as much as Wolff was and partly still is to those of Bottas. And in addition there are the Mexican sponsors. Which are guaranteed. Just go to the Mexico City GP once and you immediately understand why. Carlos Slim, magnate owner of brands that paved his career, is Checo’s main fan. In the name of his popularity and perhaps also of their common origins in Guadalajara. The strange thing is that Red Bull has never been particularly sensitive to outside sponsors. He never had much need for it. Maybe times have changed. Or perhaps it’s another sign of how different Horner’s sensibilities are on the matter. And there’s yet another factor: after churning out many and burning five or six times as many, Red Bull isn’t in a great position for talent. There is Yuki Tsunoda who grows up and would like promotion. There’s Liam Lawson who can’t wait any longer. But he is not the big name, the Piastri, the Antonelli, the Bearman. And that’s how it goes. There are those who find themselves in the right place at the right time, as Perez long dreamed of in his time with Force India and as he has now succeeded. And who you would say is always in the wrong place at the worst time. Like Carlos Sainz, who now sees this door closed for at least two years.
