Sergio Perez hints at ‘different agendas’ at play over Red Bull sack speculation

Sergio Perez says there was never a question about him continuing with Red Bull and that speculation to the contrary was driven by “different agendas”.

Retained by Red Bull for a fourth season having recovered from his 2023 qualifying slump to finish second the Drivers’ Championship, Perez has again not maintained his early season form in F1 2024.

Sergio Perez: It was never in doubt

The Mexican driver last finished on the podium back at April’s Chinese Grand Prix, and has managed just 58 points in the 11 races since.

That’s the fewest number of points of the top eight drivers, resulting in Perez plummeting to P7 in the Drivers’ Championship while also hurting Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship, where their lead has been slender to a measly eight points by McLaren.

The 34-year-old’s latest slump led to widespread speculation that he would be replaced by Red Bull at the summer break by either VCARB’s Daniel Ricciardo or reserve driver Liam Lawson.

The rumours were fuelled by comments from Red Bull team bosses as Helmut Marko revealed there “will be a meeting” as Perez’s form was a “problem” before Christian Horner spoke of Red Bull running on “one leg”.

Red Bull, though, announced on the Monday after Spa that Perez would continue with the team “after” the summer break.

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The driver says that was never in question.

“It was never in doubt,” he told The Times. “For us the main thing really is to focus on what we [Red Bull] have to do and we have a lot of work to do.

“The rest has been pure speculation driven by different agendas. You can’t forget there are a lot of agendas in the sport.”

But even though Perez always knew his seat was safe, that doesn’t mean the comments and criticism didn’t get to the driver

“I’m good at [switching off], but I have to admit that I can be better,” Perez said.

“You realise it only matters to maximise your career, your potential. Give everything for your team, because at the end of the day they are the ones that believe in you. They are the ones that support you. I will give everything for my team.

“It’s easy to say, ‘I don’t care at all about what people say’ – but you do care. But I try to care less and less every time, so I’m still working on it.”

Perez sits seventh in the Drivers’ Championship on 128 points, 15 behind sixth-placed Lewis Hamilton and a whopping 175 behind his championship-leading team-mate Max Verstappen.

Perez already has a new contract in place for next season, having signed a new two-year deal with Red Bull that was confirmed after Monaco.

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