Sergio Perez future: Bold Red Bull prediction after strong start to F1 2024 season

With two consecutive second-place finishes in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, Sergio Perez is achieving the results necessary to continue with Red Bull in 2025.

The Mexican driver is one of those under pressure this year, with his contract coming to an end at the conclusion of this season. Red Bull boss Christian Horner has made it clear it’s Perez’s seat to lose, should he have another poor season like in 2023.

Sergio Perez is ‘doing enough’ to retain Red Bull seat

All eyes are on Perez this season to see whether he can right the wrongs of 2023 with a much stronger year. Despite driving the same car that Max Verstappen crushed the opposition with, Perez only barely managed to secure the runner-up place as he only scored nine podium finishes from 22 races.

With Daniel Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda, and super-sub Liam Lawson all waiting in the wings for a chance with Red Bull, the pressure is well and truly on Perez to deliver and help Red Bull clinch another championship without any of the issues and incidents of last season.

Perez has duly delivered in the first two races of 2024, coming home a strong second in both races after putting in some decisive overtaking moves and provide able backup for Max Verstappen – exactly the types of drive expected of him.

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast after the race, Alpine reserve driver Jack Doohan and Diego Mejia from Fox Sports Mexico discussed Perez’s form and whether he’s likely to keep his seat at Red Bull for 2025.

“I think, for now, he’s doing enough,” Doohan said of Perez.

“While that Red Bull has that substantial gap over the rest of the field, he’s doing enough. We can see he’s trailing, potentially between two to four tenths away from Max.

“When the field does, and I hope finally, close up on that Red Bull and that gap closes down to one or two-tenths, Checo [Perez] is going to have to close up and he’s going to have to really try and get more out of that Red Bull to really make sure that he’s keeping that one-two.

“He’s making sure that he’s keeping them and the car in the window where he’s able to keep a healthy lead in the Constructors’ and do what they want him to do.

“They don’t want him to get too close to Max but, for right now, he’s doing what he needs to do.”

Mejia revealed that conversations he’s had with Perez have shed light on how the under-fire Mexican driver has opted to take a different approach to his racing in 2024, something which seems to be bearing fruit at this early stage of the season.

“I think he’s happy with how he’s feeling [and what] he’s getting out with the car,” Mejia said.

“His benchmark is the highest obviously and Max has done a perfect job.

“I think Checo is happy with how the season started for him. Talking to him before the season, he seems to have switched his approach a little bit, trying to enjoy this year more and look race by race rather than putting himself on the spot like, ‘I have to beat Max every weekend’, like he did sometimes probably last year.

“I think he’s taken a different approach. He knows it’s a decisive year for him. But the way he’s performing, and the way other guys who are supposed to be looking after his seat are performing, I think it’s a great start for him.”

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Should the season continue in the same vein for Perez, with the Red Bull driver bringing home the results expected of him, Doohan believes that if Perez can accept the less-pressured dynamic of finishing second to Verstappen rather than setting out to beat him, he’ll have a lot more fun.

“To have that pressure now off his back, that he can go, ‘Okay, I’m going to go out, I’m going to enjoy driving this car, I’m going to make the most of it, try and execute well for myself,” Doohan said.

“But also for the team and bring home what the objective is, which is a 1-2, and he’s doing that thus far.

“So I’m sure, potentially, that pressure off his shoulders, he’s going to be having a bit more fun. Over time, he might find the gap might get closer and closer because he’s not focusing so much solely on that end goal of beating Max, which could be potentially doing the opposite.

“He might fall back more in love with the sport and more with what he’s doing. and find time here and there over the season and find that he gets close.”

Mejia agreed, and pointed to how Perez has opted to keep the team around him the exact same for 2024 – a clear indication that he believes improvements from his side of the garage must come from himself, rather than seeking to point fingers elsewhere.

“He told me he’s learned a lot of lessons from what happened last year and this sort of changed approach – also in the way he works with his side of the garage,” Mejia explained.

“There was some talk outside and maybe things weren’t working as they should. He recognised that at some point while trying to beat Max, he was making the car actually slower.

“Like trying to chase something that wasn’t right, the car was not going any quicker for him.

“He realised that after the year. There were no changes on his side of the garage. He has exactly the same people as last year. That’s a vote of confidence for his engineer, his performance engineer, the people who are looking after all the electronics, the starts, everything that’s so crucial.

“He’s got a very nice bond with them. I think they appreciate Checo’s support. That only has probably made him stronger. I think it’s showing at the start of this year, and hopefully he can keep it up because it’s not going to be easy.”

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