Sergio Perez will remain a Formula One driver beyond the summer break and until the end of the year, Red Bull confirmed on Monday.
The shock decision was announced by Horner to the Red Bull factory on Monday, sources confirmed to ESPN.
“Checo remains a Red Bull Racing driver despite recent speculation and we look forward to seeing him perform at tracks he has previously excelled at after the summer break,” Horner said.
Perez’s future has been hanging in the balance for a while and as recently as the Belgian Grand Prix weekend sources had told ESPN he could be replaced over the summer break, which runs until the end of August.
On Monday, Horner and Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko held a meeting to discuss a number of issues including the future of Perez.
The outcome of that discussion was an agreement Perez should see out the season with the team.
The Mexican driver has failed to score a podium since the Chinese GP in April and his poor form, coupled with McLaren’s resurgence, has left Red Bull under threat in the constructors’ championship.
He has accumulated just 28 points over the last eight races.
According to sources, plenty of people within Red Bull fear the team will lose the constructors’ championship to McLaren this season and most point to Perez as the reason why.
Focus will now turn to the upcoming Imola test of RB’s Daniel Ricciardo and Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson on Wednesday.
Originally viewed as an audition for the Perez seat, that may well now be a straight shootout — either for Ricciardo to keep his seat beyond the break or for Lawson to replace him at the Dutch Grand Prix and beyond.
Ricciardo, still without a contract extension for 2025, saw an uptick in performance before the summer break which appeared to have moved him closer to staying put this season.
Source: www.espn.com