SERGIO PEREZ AGREES TO NEW FORMULA 1 CONTRACT EXTENSION WITH RED BULL.
Red Bull has announced it has agreed a new deal to keep Sergio Perez in Milton Keynes until the end of the 2024 F1 season.
Fresh off winning the Monaco Grand Prix, news gets better for Sergio Perez as the Mexican has come to terms with Red Bull over a fresh deal.
Perez’s original deal expired at the end of the 2022 season, having joined Red Bull in ’21 as a partner to Max Verstappen and replacing Alex Albon in Milton Keynes.
He has signed a fresh two-year deal with the team, taking him up to the end of the 2024 season – meaning he will have been in F1 for 14 years since his debut in 2011.
What has Sergio Perez and Red Bull had to say about his new contract extension to keep him at the team?
SERGIO PEREZ NEW CONTRACT EXTENSION WITH RED BULL
Perez has started the season strongly, with podiums in Australia, Imola and Spain before victory – his third in F1 – in the wet/dry of Monaco on Sunday.
He also took a maiden career pole position in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah in March.
He is currently 15 points off Verstappen in the drivers’ standings as Red Bull has hit the ground running with the new technical regulations for 2022 with five wins from seven grands prix.
Sergio Perez signed his new contract extension with Red Bull ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix – with the 32-year-old set to stay for a third and fourth season with the four-time constructors’ champions.
WHAT HAS PEREZ SAID?
“This has been an incredible week, winning the Monaco Grand Prix is a dream for any driver and then to follow that with announcing I will continue with the team until 2024 just makes me extremely happy,” Sergio Perez said in a statement about his new contract.
“I am so proud to be a member of this team and I feel completely at home here now. We are working very well together and my relationship with Max, on and off the track, is definitely helping drive us forward even more.
We have built tremendous momentum as a team and this season is showing that, I am excited to see where that can take us all in the future.”
Perez was an integral part to Verstappen winning the world championship in Abu Dhabi in 2021 as he held up the Dutchman’s rival Lewis Hamilton on older tyres, allowing Verstappen to be in position to capitalise in the late race safety car controversy.
Team boss Christian Horner noted how well Perez has fitted into the team in his comments on the Mexican signing the contract extension.
“Since joining Red Bull Racing, Checo has done a fantastic job. Time and again he has proved himself to not only be a magnificent team player but as his level of comfort has grown he has become a real force to be reckoned with at the sharp end of the grid,” observed Horner.
This year he has taken another step and the gap to World Champion Max has closed significantly, evidenced by his superb pole position in Jeddah earlier this year and by his wonderful win in Monaco just last weekend.
“For us, holding onto his pace, race craft and experience was a no-brainer and we are delighted that Checo will continue to race for the team until 2024.
“In partnership with Max we believe we have a driver pairing that can bring us the biggest prizes in F1.”
