Chico Perez's contract with the Red Bull Formula 1 Team expires at the end of the 2024 season. What does he need to do on the track to renew and continue in 2025?
Sergio “Chico” Perez's contract with the Red Bull Formula 1 team expires at the end of the 2024 season. If the Mexican wants to stay at that team, he will have to convince his managers that he is the ideal driver to make a move from the team. Current regulations for cars ending in 2025 and new car starting in 2026, but that's not all.
Checo Pérez is an extremely valuable asset to Red Bull for his contributions to Max Verstappen's first world title in 2021 and the Constructors' Championship in 2022 and 2023, but he must prove his value once again in the only place that matters: the manual.
This year, Chico Perez will complete his 14th season in Formula 1 with 257 Grand Prix starts, which is 9th in the history of Formula 1 in this field, but he is not just a long-term driver in this category, but a driver with more than 6 wins and 35 podiums. Crowning achieved results beyond expectations.
But 2024 is no different. Every season, Chico Pérez had to respond by keeping his seat or finding another, and it's the same for all drivers, one way or another.
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Aside from all the rumours, whether unfounded, about drivers who could take Chico Pérez's seat alongside Max Verstappen, 2024 is a circumstantial year, in which the team must decide whether the Mexican should continue and evaluate Guadalajara, If and when this becomes the case. They offer you what suits you.
A driver who is at Red Bull or another team in 2025 must produce results in that season, but with his eyes set on 2026, the year in which the regulations will change and with them the cars.
Preferably, the 2025 drivers will be the same as the 2026 drivers so they can work openly on the development of the next car, without having to hide information from someone who is leaving and could be used by another team. Driver is migrating..
So getting a contract for 2025 is likely the best way to secure a seat for 2026.
Strong start to the season
Checo has, at most, eight races to make Red Bull decide to extend his contract. Why eight? Because Monaco is now the eighth Grand Prix of the season and it is always held in the third week of May. If Chico Perez isn't clear about his future by then, he certainly won't be at Red Bull.
The 34-year-old Mexican is one of 11 drivers on the current Formula 1 grid who have finished their contract in 2024, not counting the youngsters already in Formula 2 who are hoping to graduate and make it to the big circus.
The best seats available are obviously the most appreciated and can be ordered as follows: 1 in Red Bull, 1 in Mercedes, 1 in Aston Martin, 2 in Sauber, 2 in Alpine, 2 in Racing Bulls and 2 in Haas.
Winning races and being consistently on the podium, preferably with no non-Red Bull cars in front of him, will be the most effective way in which Checo Pérez can put his signature forward.
Starting off like 2023, but maintaining regularity, that should be your goal. Last season, Chico Pérez won two races, claimed two pole positions and four podiums in his first five grands prix.
The Miami GP marked the beginning of Max Verstappen's dominance and Checo Pérez's garage stagnation in car development. Then came Monaco and a mistake in qualifying led to a negative series, which the Mexican can afford in 2024.
Develop the car to your style
A Formula 1 team cannot have two development lines for its car. The line is always what makes it faster and more reliable.
Red Bull's “problem” is that Max Verstappen's driving style is very strange. The Dutchman managed to go faster in a car that was too sensitive for a traditional-style driver. Try to ensure that the car has a very strong front axle and a very loose rear axle, so achieving driving with smooth movement of the steering wheel and without corrections, mainly in fast corners, is a challenge for drivers who prefer cars that are more neutral or even with a more stable tail and a more flexible front. As is the case with Chico Perez.
Red Bull's solution is that the RB20's settings window has the potential to allow both Verstappen and Perez to adjust the settings to their style without losing performance either on a single lap or at race pace.
Chico Pérez must capitalize on the concern of development director Pierre Wache and director of race engineers Giampiero Lambiasi, as Red Bull knows it is still beholden to Guadalajara in 2023, beyond the mistakes it may have made.
So, winning at least two races in the first third of the year, qualifying in the top two rows and always being on the podium is the formula for automatic renewal, but you can't do it alone, it requires the support of engineer Hugh Bird and the whole group working on the No. 11 car.
It happens when your garage is late
Now, if the performance of Chico Perez's garage starts to fall into wrong decisions, and failed strategies and answers are not found in the preparation, it is better for the driver to raise his voice as quickly as possible so that this break does not happen You become in a deep and insurmountable ravine.
What happens if Checo doesn't sign a contract extension with Red Bull
Chico Perez made it clear during the presentation of the RB20 car that the contract that ends in 2024 will not be the last of his Formula 1 career.
The Mexican is one of the best drivers on the grid, with experience, maturity, ability to develop and a lot of hands. If Red Bull releases him soon, Mercedes, Alpine, Aston Martin, Williams, Sauber and Haas would put him as a candidate immediately.
Drivers like Chico Perez are not abundant in Formula 1. Of those left without a contract, he, Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz have to be the most sought after.
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