18 January 2024 , 16:58
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Sergio Perez has been told he can find a new home in Formula E should he lose his fight to keep his Red Bull seat.
The Mexican finished second in the drivers' championship last year, behind only team-mate Max Verstappen. It was the first time in the team's history that they have their racers finish in the top two places at the end of a season.
On the face of it, Perez secured an excellent result. But the reality was it was the minimum required considering he had the quickest car on the grid by quite a distance.
He failed to get the most out of it and scored fewer than half the number of points managed by Verstappen over the course of the season. And it was only at the penultimate race of the year that Perez finally secure that runner-up spot with Lewis Hamilton breathing down his neck.
So the pressure is on Perez, heading into the final year of his current Red Bull deal. If he cannot improve his consistency, Red Bull may choose to bring in a fresh face to partner Verstappen which could leave the 34-year-old without an F1 seat for 2025.
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Should that happen, FE co-founder Alberto Longo has offered Perez a new home. "I talk to Checo constantly and I hope he makes a leap to the real competition," he told AS Mexico. "Formula E is his home, the doors are open to him and he is welcome."
The upcoming 2024 season will be Perez's fourth as Verstappen's team-mate. He has lasted far longer than predecessors Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon did and has won five races for the team - but that record still pales in comparison to what the triple world champion he shares a garage with has achieved.
Only once has Perez finished even within 200 points of Verstappen by the end of a season, in the three years they have been partnered. And outgoing AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost is adamant that neither he nor any other team-mate to come will be able to hold a candle to the defending champion.
"If Max continues to have a good car, he will win many more races and titles," said the Austrian. "He's still not at his limit and will get even better. No driver who is or will be his team-mate will ever progress beyond the role of number two driver."
Team boss Christian Horner has given Perez his vote of confidence and said over the winter that "it's Checo's seat to lose". But he ominously went on to add: "We're not short of talent within the group and, obviously, outside of the group there's been significant interest as well."