Sergio Perez Extension Spares Christian Horner Pain of Navigating “Tricky” Dynamics Between Carlos Sainz Senior and Jos Verstappen

Carlos Sainz is currently the hottest driver on the grid without a contract. He is the only race winner this year who will not have a team for 2025 and the hunt is still on. So far, Mercedes is not in contention, as Williams and Sauber Audi are the two teams he is looking at. Although Red Bull was one of the teams that he could go to in 2025, there are some underlying issues that might be the reason this has not happened yet.

David Croft recently was invited to the Sky Sports Podcast, and that’s where he spoke about where Sainz will go, and what is in store for Checo. After discussing other topics on the podcast, they finally reach a point where they talk about Checo not being replaced in Red Bull. While Yuki Tsunoda was rumored for the seat, Carlos Sainz is the better driver. However, the reason Sainz might skip on Red Bull is not him or the team, but his father and Jos Verstappen instead.

Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz’s parents become the reason behind Perez’s stay

The Podcast starts off with talks about Monaco and the upcoming Canadian GP before jumping into Checo’s position on the grid. David Croft claimed, “The announcement we are going to get is, probably they are going to re-announce Checo. But I’d be happy to be proved wrong if that’s the case.”

He explained how Christian Horner is the one who supports Carlos Sainz, stating, “I think Sainz was, actually was Horner man a little bit. within this, if he were to come back, it would be Horner convincing him to do so.” Jos Verstappen is already unhappy with Horner’s management since the beginning of the season and the team principal would not want to do anything to upset him more.

Croft finally explained the main reason Carlos Sainz is not considering Red Bull saying, “But I think the biggest problem there was back from the Toro Rosso days wasn’t it and I think it’s the fathers are particularly not seeing eye to eye and I think that might have proved too much of a tricky thing for them to have to handle.”

Jos Verstappen wants Max to find a new team after the Horner controversy stirred the team up at the beginning of the season. Having Carlos Sainz Jr join the team might cause a rift within Red Bull with both the fathers not happy with the situation. This is a problem that can be avoided by just continuing with Sergio Perez. 

What other benefits does Red Bull get by extending Sergio Perez’s contract?

Checo has been a part of Red Bull since 2021 and many believe he is the reason Max Verstappen won the first world championship. He displayed amazing teamwork during the Abu Dhabi race in 2021 and won the hearts of the team and its fans. Checo had blocked Lewis Hamilton, giving room for Max Verstappen to catch up with the Mercedes driver, and that’s exactly what happened.

Sergio Perez has always been a team player since he joined Red Bull. Knowing that the team favors Max Verstappen more as he is a world champion, he never complains when it comes to supporting his teammate. By now, almost everyone in Red Bull’s garage knows Checo well, and this plays a huge role in staying with a team.

Along with his supportive driving, he brings in a ton of sponsor money from Mexico, something that is important for any team. While Carlos Sainz could offer a consistent driver in the second Red Bull seat, he would always be a threat to Max Verstappen’s dominance.

All things considered, Sergio Perez is a better teammate at the end of the day, because Jos Verstappen has a good relationship with the Mexican. Unlike the way things are with Carlos Sainz. With that said, where do you think Carlos Sainz will end up after the 2024 season?