Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner has said that the team is “not short of options” when it comes to potential replacements for Sergio Perez in the 2025 season.
The Milton Keynes-based team have swept all before them this year, waltzing to both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles with little challenge from the other nine teams on the grid.
Indeed, Max Verstappen has also faced little in the way of an internal challenge this season on the way to world championship number three, with teammate Perez seeing his chances fade gradually after the first few races of the campaign.
That drop-off in form for the Mexican has meant that speculation has grown around his future, meanwhile, with his contract with the team coming to an end at the conclusion of the 2024 season.
Providing he is not replaced before then, it could well be the most in-demand seat in motorsport – despite the prospect of having to go up against Verstappen – and Horner has said that the drivers are queueing up for a shot at the role in 2025.
Plenty of suitors for 2025 drive
“We’re certainly not short of options,” Horner said to the press in Austin.
“We’ve got plenty of time to look and evaluate that but there’s so many factors involved in that.”
Horner was also asked whether Perez’s seat would be at risk for next season if he did not finish in second place in the championship standings this time around.
“No there’s no pre-mandated like that at all,” Horner said.
“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], we finished it last year with Max and Checo.
“With this car, it would be fantastic in such a season that we’ve had if we could finish first and second but there’s no pre-mandate on Checo that you have to finish second or you won’t be driving the car next year. That’s never been discussed.”
