Verstappen Reacts To Perez's Contract Extension With Red Bull Racing

Wednesday, 05 June 2024 at 12:24

Max Verstappen addressed Sergio Perez's contract extension shortly ahead of the ninth Grand Prix weekend of the season in Canada.

Sergio Perez is the driver who has raced alongside Max Verstappen for the longest time out of all the triple World Champions' previous Red Bull teammates, who include Daniel Ricciardo, Alex Albon, and Pierre Gasly.

The 34-year-old joined Red Bull in 2021. It is now his fourth season alongside the Dutchman, and based on the news that the Red Bull Racing team shared yesterday (June 4th), Checo and Verstappen should be teammates for at least two more years.

Perez just signed a two-year extension of his current deal with the team from Milton Keynes, which means he should stay with Red Bull until the end of 2026.

Max Verstappen, who has a long-term contract with the Austrian team until the end of 2028, reacted to Perez's new contract. As quoted by news.verstappen.com, he said:

"Finally, it is great news that Checo has signed with the team until 2026 and I am glad to be able to continue with the successful partnership that we have created over the past few years."

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"We achieved a record-breaking season last year and the team is very strong, so we are looking forward to building on this success into the next two years as well."

Verstappen hasn't really been challenged by the Mexican driver in the last few years, which made many fans wish to see a different driver (such as Carlos Sainz) alongside the 26-year-old.

However, the Verstappen-Perez duo worked well for the team from Milton Keynes in the last three seasons, and Christian Horner stated continuity and stability are two key reasons for prolonging the Mexican's contract.

Helmut Marko previously said Red Bull would offer Perez only a one-year deal, so he doesn't feel comfortable. However, the team agreed with Checo on a two-year extension, suggesting they were satisfied enough with his performance and synergy with the rest of the squad.