McLaren boss Zak Brown shares what he’s now hearing about Sergio Perez’s Red Bull future

Red Bull are yet to announce whether Sergio Perez will continue with the team for the 2025 season. Until they do, next year’s grid will not be complete.

Christian Horner and Helmut Marko met with Red Bull shareholders in the United Arab Emirates after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The objective of the meeting was to decide their 2025 line-ups, though it’s unclear if they came to a resolution.

Liam Lawson is the favourite to replace Perez if he loses his drive. But RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda remains a contender too.

Red Bull are no longer keen on Franco Colapinto, which means they’re committed to hiring from within. That will leave a vacancy at the junior outfit.

This is expected to go to Isack Hadjar, the academy driver who finished runner-up to Gabriel Bortoleto (the new Sauber signing) in the championship. Perez won’t be demoted like Daniil Kvyat and Pierre Gasly before him.

As such, his only hope of racing in F1 next year would be taking on a reserve role and waiting for an opportunity. He may wish to explore another series in the hope of staying sharp for 2026, or it could be his signal to retire.

Zak Brown says ‘it looks like’ Red Bull will replace Sergio Perez

In an interview with Sky Sports News, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said Perez made world champion Max Verstappen look even better in 2024. While Verstappen clearly did an ‘unbelievable’ job, it’s also true that his teammate ‘wasn’t quite on the pace’.

Brown believes Red Bull could have been in constructors’ title contention at the season finale in Abu Dhabi if Perez had been close to the Dutchman. As it is, they were eliminated from contention after Qatar and ultimately finished 77 points behind.

This shouldn’t disguise the fact that they had a ‘fantastic’ car and a ‘mega’ team. Brown expects Red Bull to react to their disappointing third-place finish by firing Perez after hearing ‘a lot of noise’.

“He does have a fantastic car,” Brown said of Verstappen. “He had a teammate that wasn’t quite on the pace. If you had a teammate at his level, they would have been right in the mix at the last race of the year.

“He’s done an unbelievable job. Full credit to a four-time world champion. It’s a mega team.

“It looks like maybe he’ll have a new teammate next year. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. There’s a lot of noise about that.”

Why Sergio Perez losing his Red Bull seat is good news for Lando Norris

In order to dismiss Perez, Red Bull need to find a way out of his contract. The deal he signed in June initially guaranteed him a seat for 2025.

Jos Verstappen’s ‘stirring’ helped Perez because it destabilised Red Bull. In those circumstances, Horner latched onto the continuity provided by the Mexican.

There’s a possibility that Perez will become a Red Bull ambassador, ensuring he still banks a lucrative 2025 salary without necessarily endangering the team’s on-track prospects. This may allow the team to avoid a damaging legal battle.

As he looks to dethrone Verstappen, Lando Norris will hope either Tsunoda or Lawson provides a sterner test. While that would mean one more rival at the front, it would also reduce the 27-year-old’s overwhelming share of Red Bull’s points.