Helmut Marko has confirmed that a decision regarding Sergio Perez's F1 future with Red Bull will be announced “in the next few days”.
Speculation regarding the Mexican driver’s fate with the Milton Keynes-based outfit has been ongoing for months as a result of Perez’s underperformance and persistent struggles this season.
In his regular column for Speedweek, Marko confirmed the timing of Red Bull’s decision while addressing some of the swirling rumors around Perez’s status.
It has been reported that Red Bull’s top brass came together after F1’s season finale in Abu Dhabi to discuss Perez’s fate, with a recommendation then forwarded to the energy drink company’s shareholders for the latter to make a final call on Red Bull’s 2025 driver line-up.
While Marko provided a short-term timeline on Red Bull’s decision, the Austrian also touched upon rumors that the F1 outfit would need to make a significant payout to Perez to terminate the latter’s contract with the team which runs until the end of 2025.
These suggestions were fueled by comments made by Nico Rosberg to Sky F1 in Abu Dhabi.
“The rumours suggest that he’s on his way out, but he hasn’t confirmed it yet, because he does have a contract apparently for next year,” Rosberg said at Yas Marina.
“And we’ve heard rumours it’s around 16 million there at play. He wants his money at least, so he’s not going to go away that easily. And I think there’s a bit of lawyer discussions going on at the moment.”
However, Marko dismissed the 2016 F1 world champion’s comments.
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“We will be announcing news on the driver pairing for next year in the next few days,” the Red Bull motorsport advisor wrote in his Speedweek column.
“There’s a lot of speculation about this, including rumours about possible transfer fees, which are complete nonsense.”
Both RB’s Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda are cited as potential candidates to replace Perez. Last week at Yas Marina, the Japanese driver enjoyed his first outing at the wheel of Red Bull’s race-winning RB20.
Marko praised Tsunoda’s technical feedback, a skill that has been questioned in the past but which Red Bull found valuable during the test.
“Yuki was allowed onto the track with the RB20 during the post-season test and the team was happy with his technical feedback,” Marko wrote. “In this respect, he is much better than what is said about him.”
Tsunoda’s strong performance has likely bolstered his standing within the Red Bull camp, though he remains an outside contender for Perez’s seat, with Lawson seen as the frontrunner should Red Bull opt for a change.
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