Christian Horner admits early Sergio Perez contract extension in 2024 ‘didn’t work’ as Red Bull set for post-Abu Dhabi driver discussions

A decision to “settle” Sergio Perez’s mind by offering him a two-year contact extension early in 2024 “didn’t work”, according to Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner, with the Mexican having endured a miserable run of form ever since that has left his future at the squad in doubt.

On June 4, following a solid start to the season for Perez, Red Bull announced that they had extended Perez’s contract until 2026, with Horner saying at the time: “Now is an important time to confirm our line-up for 2025 and we are very pleased to continue working together with Checo.”

However, following that June announcement, Perez has added just 45 points to his tally – Verstappen having scored more points in the Canadian and Spanish Grands Prix the followed Perez’s contract extension.

Perez also goes into the Abu Dhabi weekend as the only driver out of the top four teams of McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes yet to take a victory this season – while his underperformance has seen Red Bull fall out of contention for the 2024 constructors’ championship.

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Speaking of the decision to offer Perez a contract extension so early in the season, Horner replied: “Obviously at the time, Sergio was performing extremely well. I think he had four podiums in the first five races. And in order to settle his mind and extend that run of form for the rest of the season, we elected to go early, which obviously didn't work. So, that's just life sometimes.

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“And I think Checo [Perez], you have to look beyond this year for the contribution that he's made to our team. He's been a great team player. He's a great person. He's extremely popular within the team. He's worked very hard over the four years that he's been with us. And he's played a vital role in the constructors' championships that we've won, the five Grand Prix victories that he had in our car.

“It's been the most successful pairing that we've ever had, finishing first and second in the drivers' championship last year. So I think nobody is more frustrated with the results than Checo, from his own high standards.

“That's obviously been painful for him, for the team, and we've worked tremendously hard to try and support him and we'll continue to do so all the way up until the chequered flag on Sunday, where hopefully he can get a good result at the final race of the year.”

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Question marks remain over what will happen to Perez once that chequered flag has flown in Abu Dhabi – with Horner confirming that he was set to discuss the Mexican’s future following the conclusion of the season.

“Obviously, Checo is our driver, he remains our driver, contracted to the team,” said Horner. “And obviously, this season hasn't gone to anyone's plan, particularly with Checo's performance and since Monaco, it's been very, very tough for him. And so inevitably, once we get this race out of the way, we'll sit down and discuss the future.

“But Checo has been a very important part of our team,” he added. “There's huge respect for Checo within the team and nobody likes to see him struggling like the way he has. And, you know, we'll sit down and discuss things after the season.”

Pushed on other drivers within the Red Bull family who could step into Perez’s seat, Horner replied; “We've got two talented drivers in VCARB [Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson]. But until the situation is clear with Sergio and what he wants to do, everything else is purely speculation.”