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Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko recently confirmed that Sergio Perez had signed a contract extension with Red Bull before the F1 Monaco GP. Speaking to Austrian outlet OE24, Marko said:
“On the Friday before the Monaco Grand Prix, we gave him a contract extension. He was extra motivated after this. It’s very nice to have this duo of drivers. We’ve already recorded five wins this year.”
Helmut Marko also talked about the difference in the way Ferrari and Red Bull approached tense situations. While Red Bull, especially Max Verstappen, has shown the ability to remain calm in these situations, Ferrari was noticeably frantic in Monaco and hence ended up making mistakes with its strategy.
The Austrian said:
“Max [Verstappen] remains calm. He has enough self-confidence. They [Ferrari] are under pressure. Charles Leclerc has had a hard time with that and mistakes are made, but that’s racing. In Monaco, we forced Ferrari to react to our pit-stop strategy. They reacted wrong.”
Sergio Perez to have every opportunity to fight for the title
Red Bull boss Christian Horner has confirmed that Sergio Perez will have every opportunity to mount a title challenge this season and Red Bull will not subject either of the drivers to preferential treatment.
Speaking to the media after the Monaco GP, Horner was quite explicit in making clear the team's intentions to let the two drivers fight it out for the title. He said:
“He’s in this championship just as much as Max is. The difference between the two of them is 15 points now, it’s nothing, so it’s a long way to go in this championship.”
Even Sergio Perez's teammate Max Verstappen appeared to not have any issues with the Mexican having an equal opportunity to fight for the title. When asked about the possibility of fighting for the title against Perez, the Dutchman was more than open to that, saying:
“Yeah, absolutely. Why would that change? We work really well as a team. We always try to optimise the car and work for the team and we can accept when somebody does a good job or does a better job and I think that’s very important because that’s how you are respectful to each other. Yeah, may the best man win at the end, right?”
Perez is currently 15 points behind Verstappen. The Monaco GP was the first occasion where he was the quicker driver at Red Bull during his stay with the team. It now remains to be seen if the Mexican can mount a challenge against Verstappen.
