Sergio Perez would have hoped that the Qatar Grand Prix would be the race he needed to quieten noises surrounding his Red Bull Racing future.
The Qatar Grand Prix weekend started badly for Sergio Perez after a disastrous Sprint Race event.
A Q1 elimination and a slow start from the pit lane meant he was never going to score points in Saturday’s event.
Team principal Christian Horner questioned Perez’s error in the Sprint Race but would have been encouraged by his performance after his P20 finish.
However, the testing he did in the Sprint Race appeared to improve his fortunes, and while a P9 start still wouldn’t have been high enough up the grid for Perez’s liking, it was better than being in the bottom five cars again.
Sunday’s race was going relatively well for Perez even if he wasn’t on the same pace as teammate Max Verstappen.
Unfortunately for Perez, he suddenly spun under the safety car and couldn’t get going again.
It means the Mexican driver has only scored two points in the past four weekends, less than Nico Hulkenberg and Zhou Guanyu.
Horner was speaking to Sky Sports F1 about Perez’s future and the implications of his performances this season on Red Bull.
Christian Horner urges Sergio Perez to make his own decision on Red Bull future
Horner was asked if he’s going to give Perez every opportunity to prove he should continue at Red Bull and said: “We’ve won nine Grand Prix this year to five of any other team.
“Now, all of those nine races have come with Max, whereas every other team has split between two drivers.
“And I think to be third, we’re out of the Constructors’ and that’s very frustrating because that’s where the financial revenues are distributed on but it does give us more wind tunnel time if you look at a glass half full perspective with a brand new set of regulations coming in ‘26, it gives us a little bit more wind tunnel time to accommodate those new regs.
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“Look, Checo’s been a wonderful driver for us, certainly in ‘21, ‘22, ‘23, he contributed to Max’s championship obviously in ‘21, Constructors’ Championships in ‘22, ‘23 and most of all he’s a great guy.
“He’s not enjoying the situation that he’s in at the moment. He knows the pressures of this business and we’re going to give him all the support that we can to the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi next weekend.
“And what he decides to do, that will be his decision at the end of the day.”
Host Simon Lazenby interrupted Horner and said: “Not yours?” to which Horner replied: “Well, he’s old enough and wise enough to come to his own conclusions.
“But, there’s still a race to go, let’s get to the end of Abu Dhabi and then see where we’re at.”
Red Bull hoping for Sergio Perez retirement despite having a 2025 contract
Perez needs to have a perfect end to the season to fend off rumours surrounding his future and even that may not be enough.
A victory in Abu Dhabi would confirm that he’s still capable of producing the level required to race for Red Bull.
However, since the summer break, the only race where he’s looked close to that level was in Baku when he crashed out in the final moments of the Grand Prix.
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Some people at Red Bull secretly hope Perez will retire this winter to avoid an awkward parting of ways.
Perez’s father thinks he has no intention of stopping, claiming he’s still got the potential to be a future world champion.
That seems completely far-fetched at this stage, particularly considering the calibre of his teammate.
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