Horner honest about Perez after Marko hint he may lose 2024 seat

28 August 2023 , 09:08

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Horner honest about Perez after Marko hint he may lose 2024 seat

Red Bull chief Christian Horner has insisted Sergio Perez "will be our driver in 2024" following rumours about his future.

Perez enjoyed a strong start to the season, winning two of the first four Grands Prix. However, he has struggled to keep up with teammate Max Verstappen since getting caught by him in Miami, despite the Dutchman starting ninth on the grid with Perez in pole.

And Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko had hinted Perez's place on the team could be in doubt ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, stating that his future would be the subject of discussion in Zandvoort. "Nothing is 100 per cent certain in Formula 1, it just doesn't exist," he told Kleine Zeitung last week. "There are always performance-related situations somewhere that need to be discussed. We'll take a look and discuss how to proceed in Zandvoort, then we'll know more."

Marko also spoke highly of Red Bull's third driver Daniel Ricciardo, who has an opportunity to impress after joining sister team AlphaTauri for the remainder of the season. "He has a very positive personality, a successful career, and incredible experience," Marko added of Ricciardo. "His momentum and vigour caused a real jolt at AlphaTauri. That was a real boost of motivation.

"There will be a major update at AlphaTauri and you will see whether the direction is right. We hope that will be the case and that it will soon be possible to score points. A driver like Ricciardo will, of course, help you in this situation enormously – he tells you exactly what is good and which updates are useless."

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However, team principal Horner has now categorically stated Perez will still be at Red Bull next season and insisted they are "pleased with the job that he is doing". Speaking after the Dutch Grand Prix, where Perez finished fourth, Horner said: "Checo's situation for next year is clear.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and Sergio Perez (Getty Images)

"He is a Red Bull Racing driver. We have an agreement with him. And, irrelevant of agreements, we're pleased with the job that he is doing. You saw his drive today, he was unlucky with the pit lane speed limiter, he's second in the world championship and he's the only driver other than Max to have won Grands Prix this year.

"It's easy to beat up on him when the barometer is so high on the other side. But he will be our driver in 2024." Reflecting on his fourth-placed finish in Zandvoort, Perez said he felt he "really deserved" a spot on the podium.

"Unfortunately, our great call in the beginning turned out to be not so great in the end," he said. "It's a shame that we end up losing the podium because I feel like we really deserved it today."

Matthew Cooper