With Christian Horner’s Exit Reportedly Inevitable, Has Sergio Perez Lost His Biggest Supporter and 2025 Red Bull Seat?

Red Bull might be heading toward a major overhaul. Why? Well, it was all calm on the seafront until the wave of ‘inappropriate behavior’ hit the shore of the Red Bull sea and put the watchman, Christian Horner in hot waters. The man who built the team from the ground up and made it the world championship team that it is today is facing expulsion after these accusations. We are still not sure what will be the outcome of this controversy and what the future holds for the Brit after the dust settles. However, one thing we do know is there will be repercussions if he resigns from his position and we believe it might affect Sergio Perez‘s future as well.

The Brit was internally advised to voluntarily resign. However, Horner stuck to his guns and said, “I completely deny these claims.” sparking a full-scale investigation into the matter from Red Bull GmbH. The headquarters taking over meant a serious investigation and that’s what we’re in the midst of currently. The Brit sat down for an interview in London, as reported by Craig Slater, with an independent barrister investigating the matter.

However, a lot of sources, especially the ones who spoke to BBC Sport, point toward a gloomy outcome for Horner in this saga. The understanding is Horner’s dismissal is imminent regardless of the outcome. Whether it’ll be Horner’s choice because of his treatment during this investigation or it’s because the Red Bull hierarchy will advise him to resign to disassociate themselves from this controversy, we’re not sure. Although, for the sake of this piece, let’s assume Horner’s dismissal is imminent. With this assumption, let’s discuss what this will mean for Sergio Perez and his future with the Austrian team.

Is Sergio Perez’s Red Bull future intertwined with Christian Horner’s Red Bull future?

Perez put himself in the team’s bad books after his stuttering output in the middle of the 2023 season. The Mexican failed to make it to the final stages of Q3 for five races in a row in the fastest car on the grid and after challenging his teammate for the championship. This, and his continued sub-par performances, put the Mexican’s future with the reigning champion team in jeopardy.

In fact, the Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko even openly confessed, “Checo has to deliver now” as an ultimatum. However, there was one man who always took his side and put faith in the Mexican’s ability to bounce back, and that was Christian Horner. The Red Bull boss seemed like the only person on Perez’s side during his poor run of form and even beyond that. Horner even took time out to take Perez out for dinner, showcasing the bond between them.

No doubt Horner was frustrated as well at times with Perez, especially after the 2023 Austrian GP where he was knocked out in Q2 after time deletion for exceeding track limits. However, Horner also backed him on multiple occasions. Not only back him, Horner also gave him a sense of security in the team and his future with the team wherein many predicted Perez won’t be driving for Red Bull in 2024. Horner showcased his support by saying, “I think he’s the type of guy that just needs an arm around his shoulder. You work with him and that’s what we’re doing.”

After better output in races, Horner was the first one to compliment him. He was full of praise after his 2023 Hungarian GP performance where Perez fluffed the qualifying but drove an impressive recovery race to secure a podium. “For me, that was really a statement drive today to say ‘Look, don’t write me off’, and I think this will give him a lot of confidence,” said Horner after the race.

However, now with the boss’s future in contention, will Perez’s future become uncertain as well? We all know Perez is still contracted till the end of the 2024 season. Beyond that? No one can guarantee his future. Although Horner did put the ball in Perez’s court with the admission, “We’ve got loads of options. I think it’s Checo’s seat to lose. He’s the one that we’re backing, he’s our 2024 driver. If he does a great job [this] year, there’s no reason we wouldn’t extend him into 2025.” 

Read More: F1 Rumour: Christian Horner – “We Have a Lot of Interest from Outside of the Team”, Search for Sergio Perez’s Replacement Continues

Now, if Horner leaves, who will be backing the Mexican for 2025? According to our understanding, no one! He did put himself in the bad books with the rest when he went against the prodigal son Max Verstappen with fiery statements challenging him for the championship. So if Horner leaves, we assume so will Perez after the end of the upcoming season.

The question is will we see more people follow Horner, perhaps Adrian Newey, out of Red Bull? Well, let us give you an important update on the British engineer’s stance.

Adrian Newey takes a surprising stance amidst the Christian Horner controversy

The first order of business for Horner was to get a world-class engineer and technical director on board at Red Bull back in 2005. So soon after he took over, the boss set his sights on Adrian Newey. It must’ve not been easy to poach Newey from a team like McLaren and join a team one year into its inception but Horner did it.

From 2006 onwards, the genius engineer was part of the Red Bull team, and the rest, as we all know, is history. The two have formed an incredible team and enjoyed a lot of success together. However, does this mean Newey would sacrifice everything and stay loyal to Horner? Absolutely not!

According to reports, the relationship between Newey and Horner is broken. The British engineer pledged his loyalty to Red Bull and told the team he was not going anywhere. Newey put all the rumors of him leaving Red Bull based on the outcome of this investigation to bed and also showcased he’s loyal to the team and not the man.

WATCH THIS STORY: Christian Horner Sparks Rivalry: Toto Wolff’s F2 Remark Refuted

With no one on Horner’s side, and if he leaves it would mean no one would be on Perez’s side, we might see a few changes in personnel coming to Red Bull in the coming weeks.

Editorial Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of EssentiallySports.