F1 News: Christian Horner Confirms Sergio Perez's 2025 Seat Is Still Up For Grabs

Red Bull has plenty of internal and external options to choose from.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has disclosed that the 2025 seat, currently held by Sergio Perez, remains open, and the team is in a favourable position with various options available, both within and outside the organization.

Perez's contract with the Milton Keynes outfit ends after the 2024 season, meaning possibly the most wanted seat on the Formula 1 paddock is being eyed by several rookie and experienced drivers in the sport. 

The Mexican driver fuelled the team with plenty of hope in the opening five Grands Prix of the season, with two pole positions and two race wins. However, a series of errors and a drop in pace raised several fingers at him, with many even claiming that this would be his last year not only with Red Bull but, also in the sport. 

While Horner ridiculed the rumors and encouraged Perez to do better, there's still some chance of him getting more time with Red Bull after next year as he finished P2 in the Drivers' Standings. But again, the extension would be heavily dependent on his 2024 performance. 

Ricciardo With Red Bull for 2025?

As Perez's unpredictable season carried on, Daniel Ricciardo replaced Nyck de Vries in Red Bull's sister team AlphaTauri. Ricciardo recently revealed in his Beyond The Grid interview that retiring from the sport whilst racing for Red Bull would be a dream. With Max Verstappen's seat sealed until 2028, there are high chances that the Australian driver will try his best for a 'promotion' from AlphaTauri to Red Bull. 

The Rookie Potential

The Red Bull seat is also being eyed by several rookie drivers with a lot of firepower. For example, there's Liam Lawson, who replaced Ricciardo for a short duration this year as a result of his hand injury and proved in the AT04 what he's capable of. 

When Williams showed the willingness to hire him for the upcoming season, Lawson emphasized that he was a Red Bull driver, and as a result, he was willing to wait for the opportunity to race full-time for his favorite team. 

Looking at the potential of Perez's Red Bull seat, Horner confirmed to Sky Sports F1 in a recent interview that the seat was ready to be occupied for 2025. He said:

“As a team, you want to field the most competitive pairing that you can have, and you want the right dynamic in the team.

“Max and Checo have been a tremendously successful pairing. Checo, in his three years with us, has finished fourth, third and second so he’s on a good trajectory. Daniel is well known to us – it's great to have him back in the Red Bull fold – and of course everything is open for 2025 onwards.

“For us, to have options internally and also externally is no bad place to be.”