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F1 News: Despite Sending a Harsh Warning to Sergio Perez, Helmut Marko Nearly Confirms His Future With Red Bull in 2025

Published 03/22/2024, 9:03 PM EDT

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via Imago

In the 2023 season, Sergio Perez faced significant challenges in matching the pace of his Red Bull Racing teammate and the defending champion, Max Verstappen. This was very much highlighted by his below-average performance at the Qatar Grand Prix, where he finished far behind Verstappen. Not just this; even during the pre-season testing sessions, Perez consistently lagged behind Verstappen by around 6 to 7 tenths of a second on average.

Even today, Perez is struggling to keep up with his teammate’s pace, despite his efforts to improve from the previous season. But during the recent races, Checo has been performing quite well, and this is getting noticed by the team. Team director Helmut Marko talked about Perez’s skills despite rumors of him not getting his contract renewed.

Sergio Checo Perez’s potential replacements, if any!

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Before the Australian Grand Prix goes into action, Helmut Marko came forth to talk about Sergio Perez’s progress over the last season. We know Checo has been a constant second to Verstappen’s P1, and everyone’s been noticing this. The RB20 is by far the best car on track, and the Mexican has it easy with a car that is comfortable to drive while blocking other races from attacking Max Verstappen. According to a Formel1.de report, Helmut Marko spoke to Sky Sports about Checo’s place in Red Bull, and this is what he said.

via Reuters

He stated, “Sergio is in a very good position at the moment.” Considering his performance in the 2024 season so far, Marko added, He delivered two very good races. He is second in the World Championship. The question of who should replace Perez now is not really an issue.”

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Sergio Perez has always been seen as a good teammate and has helped Max Verstappen win quite a few races, especially during the first time the Dutchman won the championship. There has been a display of how well Perez can defend against other races, making him a great driver to hold off the rest of the grid while Max Verstappen continues to push harder in the race. Although Red Bull has a B team, the drivers, Ricciardo and Tsunoda, are not looking too great this season. But can they potentially replace Checo?

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Helmut Marko’s take on the Racing Bulls drivers

Talking about a better replacement for Sergio Perez, Marko said, “Especially since there is no other driver available for him at the moment.” Adding on the possibility of VCARB drivers replacing Sergio Perez, he said, “Of course, drivers from B-Team Racing Bulls are always candidates, and Daniel Ricciardo in particular has returned to Formula 1 with the hope of promotion, but so far none of them has been able to convince Marko – neither Ricciardo nor his team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.

via Imago

However, the director stated that they are both quite slow, with one needing to overtake the other by multiple seconds. This clarifies that Red Bull currently has no intention of replacing Checo. That being said, what do you think about Sergio Perez’s current pace in the RB20? Do you think he has winning potential, or is it enough for the team to keep him for the next season, or will he be replaced? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Written by:

Viren Mirpuri

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Viren Mirpuri is an F1 Writer at EssentiallySports. With a Degree in Mass Media and a Specialization in Journalism, Viren is known for his speedy race day coverage outside of discussing the engine technicalities. Whether he's dissecting the latest technical innovations or unraveling the drama on and off the track, he ensures that his readers stay engaged and informed.
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Edited by:

Shivali Nathta