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Sergio Perez has had his contract with Red Bull extended for two more years. The latest development will see the Mexican stay with the Milton Keynes-based outfit until 2024.
The contract extension comes hot on the heels of the 32-year-old's recent victory at the 2022 F1 Monaco GP. Speaking of the development, Checo, as Perez is famously known, said:
“For me, this has been an incredible week, winning the Monaco Grand Prix is a dream for any driver and then to follow that with announcing I will continue with the Team until 2024 just makes me extremely happy. I am so proud to be a member of this Team and I feel completely at home here now. We are working very well together and my relationship with Max [Verstappen], on and off the track, is definitely helping drive us forward even more. We have built tremendous momentum as a Team and this season is showing that, I am excited to see where that can take us all in the future.”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner announced the contract extension, saying:
“Since joining Oracle Red Bull Racing, Checo has done a fantastic job. Time and again he has proved himself to not only be a magnificent team player but as his level of comfort has grown he has become a real force to be reckoned with at the sharp end of the grid. This year he has taken another step and the gap to World Champion Max has closed significantly, evidenced by his superb pole position in Jeddah earlier this year and by his wonderful win in Monaco just last weekend. For us, holding onto his pace, race craft and experience was a no-brainer and we are delighted that Checo will continue to race for the team until 2024. In partnership with Max we believe we have a driver pairing that can bring us the biggest prizes in F1.”
Sergio Perez was instrumental in Red Bull's championship fights last year and has continued to do so this year as well. His performance as the wingman to Max Verstappen was crucial in the latter winning the 2021 F1 drivers' title and was praised for the same by Horner and Co.
Sergio Perez is in the fight for the 2022 F1 drivers' title as much as Max Verstappen, says Red Bull boss
Sergio Perez had to undergo the pain of accepting team orders while leading the 2022 F1 Spanish GP to let Max Verstappen by for the win. The Mexican, however, rebounded a week later when he won the 2022 F1 Monaco GP with a dominant performance over his teammate.
With this result, Perez is now only 15 points behind championship leader Verstappen, keeping himself in contention for the title this year. Following the Mexican's win at Monaco, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was questioned on the chances of issuing team orders once again to help the Dutchman to the title. Horner refuted the claims, saying:
“No. He’s in this Championship just as much as Max [Verstappen] is. The difference between the two of them is 15 points or so, which is nothing.”
Sergio Perez's two-year contract extension comes at an opportune moment, with the driver setting his sights on the title and riding on the back of an assured seat at the Austrian outfit. How this development affects the contracts of other Red Bull Academy drivers like Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, who are also hopefuls for the second seat in the team, remains to be seen.
