After months of speculation around Red Bull’s team for next season, Mexican driver Sergio Perez has finally signed a contract extension with the F1 World Champions.
Red Bull had the chance to go for Carlos Sainz, who was heavily rumored to take up the mantle, but have opted to extend Perez’s contract through to 2026.
Although initially believed to have been offered a one-plus-one deal, Tuesday’s news release explicitly stated a two-year contract for the six-time race winner.
While his form has been erratic, sources have told ESPN that Pérez has always been the favoured option for teammate Max Verstappen.
Perez is well liked by Verstappen and within Red Bull, which has held him in good stead for a new deal.
Red Bull hopes the Pérez extension will also quieten the noise around Verstappen’s future, with doubts still lingering about whether the defending world champion will see out his own contract, which runs until 2028.
Links of a Verstappen move to Mercedes have quietened in recent weeks but the Dutchman has done little to end the talk of a move.
Red Bull felt going in a different direction with Verstappen’s teammate for 2025 risked further destabilising things and reigniting talk of him wanting out.
Sherjeel Malik is the editor at FanHaat with a writing experience in multiple sports. He oversees the editorial and content coverage at FanHaat and writes often around combat sports, football and other marquee sports. A professional highlight of his career was when WWE’s Paul Heyman shared one of his articles on his social media.
Apart from writing, editing and watching sports, he likes to indulge in reading fiction, watching war documentaries and is a fan of Liverpool FC
