F1 News: Red Bull Chief Shoots Down Sergio Perez Exit Rumours - "Never Been Discussed"
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has come forward to clarify and reiterate that there is no condition or mandate in place for Sergio Perez to achieve P2 in the Drivers' Standings to save his seat for next season with the team.
Currently, at 240 points in the standings and with four Grand Prix remaining for the 2023 season to end, Perez is just 39 points clear of Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton in third. Luckily for the Mexican, the points difference increased due to the seven-time-world champion's disqualification in Austin, after his W14 car was found to have excessive skid block wear by the FIA.
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Perez was under pressure from the media and the rumors, with many of them claiming that this would be his last year with Red Bull if he did not secure P2 in the Drivers' Standings by the end of the season.
However, Horner has been quick to clarify that there was no mandate in place for Perez to finish P2 by year's end. He told the media:
"There's no pre-mandate like that
"We've never finished first and second in a championship. We've finished first and third a few times with Mark [Webber] and Sebastian [Vettel] and we did it last year with Max and Checo.
"With this car it'll be fantastic for in such a season that we've had to finish it first and second.
"But there's no pre-mandate on Checo that says 'You have to finish second or you won't be driving the car next year' that's never been discussed.”
Perez' contract with the Milton Keynes outfit stretches to the end of 2024. While there's no guarantee it could be extended further, Horner admitted that the team isn't short of options. He concluded:
"We're certainly not short of options [for the 2025 seat].
"Of course we've got plenty of plenty of time to look and evaluate that. But there are so many factors involved in that."
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