The Mexican Formula One driver
Sergio Perez signed a two-year extension of his existing contract with
Red Bull Racing, and here is everything you need to know about it.
On June 4, 2024, at 17:00 BST, the Red Bull Racing
F1 team announced its extension of collaboration with
34-year-old Sergio (Checo) Perez.
Checo joined the Austrian team in 2021 and has stayed ever since. Perez's seat in the team from Milton Keynes from 2025 onwards was in question before the start of this season.
There were a couple of candidates for his seat, including
Daniel Ricciardo,
Yuki Tsunoda, and
Carlos Sainz, but Perez's performance in the opening races of the 2024 season was sufficient to convince the team that he was the right choice.
How much will Perez earn?
It is common for F1 teams not to specify the length of newly signed contracts, but Red Bull revealed Perez signed a two-year extension to his existing contract.
This means his salary should most probably also stay as defined in the current contract. Red Bull never confirmed the exact number on Perez's payslip, but online sources suggest it's somewhere between $10 and $14 million per year.
What is significant about this contract?
The Austrian team could have prolonged Perez's contract by only one year, but they decided on two, which suggests they are happy with Perez's contribution.
Every driver can contribute in multiple ways. While Perez cannot match his teammate's speed on the track, he brings the team a significant amount of money in sponsorship deals and energy drink sales.
Perez's father, Antonio, previously claimed Checo brings in more sponsors than
Max Verstappen and
Lewis Hamilton combined.
Busineswise, Checo is a no-brainer for Red Bull. However, the team wanted to delay their decision for a bit to reevaluate whether Perez's on-track performances were sufficient.
It wouldn't make sense for the team from Milton Keynes to keep him around if they didn't trust in his ability to deliver results. Red Bull's team principal, Christian Horner, said in
the press release:
"Now is an important time to confirm our line-up for 2025 and we are very pleased to continue working together with Checo."
"Continuity and stability are important for the Team and both Checo and Max are a successful and robust partnership, securing our first ever one-two finish for the Team in the Championship last year."
"Checo has had a strong start to 2024 with second places in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Japan and then his podium in China."
"The past few races have been tough, there is convergence on the grid, but we are confident in Checo and look forward to his return to proven form and performance, that we so often see."
"Last year was a unicorn season and we will need to work hard to retain our titles, but we are assured in our line up and with the Team as a whole, which is imperative in what is shaping up to be a close fought Championship this year."
