Red Bull chief reveals deadline to confirm Max Verstappen’s F1 teammate for 2025

Red Bull director Helmut Marko admitted he wanted to have clarity over Max Verstappen’s future Formula One teammate before the summer break.

Sergio Perez has had a mixed start to the 2024 season. It started off well, with a number of one-two finishes for the team, with Verstappen coming out on top, but since then the Mexican driver has dropped to fifth in the standings.

At the Monaco Grand Prix, Perez was involved in a serious crash with Kevin Magnussen’s Haas just after turn one, ruling him out of the race and causing serious damage to the car.

Marko told Sky in Germany after the race that the crash had cost the team “two of three million” which will affect their budget cap for the season.

The question then turned to Perez’ future, with Verstappen on course for a fourth successive world championship title with five wins from eight Grand Prix races so far this season.

But when questioned about Perez’ future, Marko told Kleine Zeitung: “The talks are still ongoing, and Checo (Perez) is still our first option.

“We want to have clarity on this before the summer break, although we’re certainly not putting any pressure on ourselves.”

Red Bull are reported to be interested in offering Perez a short-term deal, but the driver is after a two-year extension.

Carlos Sainz is a driver due to be without a team at the end of the season following Lewis Hamilton’s shock move to Ferrari, and has already been linked with Red Bull and the vacant role left by the British driver at Mercedes.

Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda are currently racing for Red Bull’s sister team, with the Japanese driver already on a contract with multiple year options.

When asked about Tsunoda as a replacement, Marko said: “He is, of course, also part of the talks. In general, we have several options in his contract to commit him for several years.”