Dr. Helmut Marko has once again cautioned that Sergio Perez’s position at Red Bull is not guaranteed.
Before the Monza Grand Prix, Perez, the driver from Mexico, dismissed the possibility that his spot next to Max Verstappen could be in jeopardy due to subpar performance.
“From my side there is still a year and a half to go. So I think there’s no need to change anything,” he said.
Simultaneously, team advisor Marko spoke to the Osterreich newspaper, commenting that while Verstappen has a strong chance of winning all of the upcoming races, he wouldn’t bet on Perez taking another victory in 2023.
“Unfortunately not,” he said.
“Checo drives really well at times, but he doesn’t always manage to squeeze the most out of the car without making mistakes.”
When questioned about whether Red Bull is reconsidering its faith in the 33-year-old, Marko responded: “He has a contract until 2024.”
Nevertheless, Marko clarified that this is not an employment assurance.
“Does a job guarantee even exist in Formula 1?” the 80-year-old Austrian asked the journalist. “It is a contractual guarantee, in any case.”
Ex-F1 competitor Ralf Schumacher recently expressed doubt about Perez’s future at Red Bull.
“Hopefully he didn’t mean that his nephew Mick should replace him,” Marko laughed.
Last week, Verstappen suggested that he would like to share a Red Bull workspace with his pal Lando Norris, despite Norris already having a contract with McLaren.
“He signed a long-term contract with McLaren a few years ago,” said Verstappen at Monza. “That wasn’t very smart on his part,” he smiled.
