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

For the most part, Red Bull was faultless and absolutely brilliant throughout the 2023 season. For the most part, not all, and that was mainly down to Sergio Perez. The Mexican was at fault most of the season, unlike his teammate, and made a mess of his brilliant start to the season. Perez not only lost footing in the championship battle with Max Verstappen but also almost lost his seat with his string of poor performances. However, despite the uncertainty about his future, Perez kept his seat for 2024. With no talk of a contract extension for Perez, the Mexican needs to fend off third-party interest in the upcoming season according to his boss.

Christian Horner recently had a chat with F1’s correspondent Lawrence Barretto. In this conversation, Horner gave an update about the desirable but troubled Red Bull second seat. He revealed the outside interest in the seat but also revealed how Sergio Perez will have to change everyone’s perspective of him in the coming season if he wishes to continue his ensure with the Austrian team.

“The luxury position that we’re in is that we’re not in any rush,” says Horner. “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. But it would be purely based on what he achieves over what will be a large part of the season.”

“In terms of us needing to be in a rush, we have options that are in the wings. We have a lot of interest from outside of the team as well. So as long as the car is competitive, it puts you in a luxury position that you can just take your time to look at what all those options look like,” he added.

Read More: “You Are Not Max Verstappen”: Sergio Perez Slapped With Harsh Reality Check as Red Bull Handed Easy Way Out of Difficult Situation

The Mexican Minister of Defense will now have to defend his seat and earn his contract for the 2025 season. Whether he will be able to do it is a different discussion, but he surely has the determination.

Sergio Perez makes a statement of intent for his Red Bull contract extension

Perez lost a lot of street credit in the previous season and even lost out to his teammate in his favored street races, with the Dutchman stealing Perez’s advantage. However, the sport’s current obsession with street circuits should be good news for Perez, if only he can make the most of it.

This is one of the many reasons the Mexican needs to be a part of the sport for the foreseeable future. With his future uncertain, Perez has doubled down and is working hard as he remains determined to perform at the highest level once again to earn himself a drive in 2025.

Speaking to the media about his future, he said, “I’m at a difficult time in my career. The easiest thing to do now would be to run away. But I’m absolutely not like that and I love the challenge. I have no doubt that I will return to the level of before. I don’t even remotely think about retirement.”

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The Mexican is not delusional about his current situation and is ready to face the challenges of the upcoming season head-on and come out on the other side better and as a winner. Lucky for him, that is all he needs to do to ensure a future with his current team as well. However, it’s easier said than done so let’s wait and see what the 2024 Formula 1 championship season has in store for Sergio Perez.