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Red Bull reveal the two drivers racing for the team in the 2025 F1 season.
Red Bull Racing HQ in Milton Keynes. (Image Credit: F1)On Sunday 2nd June, Red Bull created an announcement broadcast channel on Instagram. It was expected that the announcement would reveal their drivers for 2025. Additionally, they added the following message to the channel:
Screenshot taken from Red Bull’s announcement broadcast channel on Instagram. (Image Credit: @redbullracing on Instagram)Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez are in their fourth F1 season as Red Bull teammates after Perez joined in 2021. In Verstappen’s time in F1, Perez has been his teammate for the longest period. The pair have completed 74 races together as teammates, whereas Verstappen only partnered Daniel Ricciardo for 58 races with Red Bull.
But have the team decided to retain the duo for 2025?
Will Verstappen remain with Red Bull?
Before the driver lineup was released, Verstappen shared that he believes the team has the fastest car in 2024. The reigning champion clarified that he was not considering leaving the team despite strong performances from McLaren and Ferrari.
Despite the Dutchman having a contract until 2028, there had been rumours that he could leave the team. Reportedly, Mercedes tried to lure the reigning champion with a large salary contract for their open 2025 seat following Lewis Hamilton’s departure to Ferrari. However, the 26-year-old has committed to Red Bull for the foreseeable future, particularly while they continue to produce the fastest car on the grid.
Toto Wolff:
?️ "Do I regret missing out on signing Max? Absolutely, but it wasn't an option at the time. We had two drivers whom I was very satisfied with, Nico and Lewis. When Nico left, Valtteri Bottas was the option. Max wasn't available anymore." pic.twitter.com/zmuvttMlGZ
— Verstappen News (@verstappenews) June 12, 2023
Will Perez sign a contract extension?
News had circulated about Sergio Perez’s future with the team. The Mexican driver is out of contract at the end of the 2024 season. Due to his good start to the season, a contract extension was expected to be announced. However, Perez has struggled in recent races.
The 34-year-old crashed in Free Practice 3 during the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix weekend. He was also involved in a crash during the first lap of the Monaco Grand Prix, costing the team an estimated £2-3mil. The crash followed his disastrous Q1 elimination in Qualifying.
However, it is no secret that Perez brings revenue to the team through sponsorship deals. As reported by PlanetF1, Ralf Schumacher spoke to Formel1.de and stated:
“as long as Max Verstappen stays, […] the budget limits are relatively tight at Red Bull, and Perez brings money.”
Perez brings in $33m of sponsorship money
There’s only a $9m gap between 1st & 2nd in the constructors prize money pic.twitter.com/loNSn5UAJt
— Box Box (@BoxBoxAndStop) May 20, 2024
Following Perez’s disappointment in Monaco, the driver fell to P5 in the Drivers’ Standings. Team Principal of Red Bull Racing, Christian Horner told Planet F1:
“Well, look, I mean, this weekend’s been pretty brutal for him. We need to make sure that we’ve got both cars up there scoring points, because we cannot dismiss the threat of Ferrari and McLaren in both championships.”
Horner had previously remarked that it was Perez’s seat to lose.
A difficult time for the team
Helmet Marko, Red Bull Team Director shared that the team were experiencing their most challenging period in a long time – not helped by the large bill from Perez’s Monaco crash. The team lead the Constructors’ Standings but are now only 24 points ahead of Ferrari in P2. Moreover, Verstappen leads the Drivers’ Championship by 31 points ahead of Charles Leclerc in P2.
These cars doing what they do best: keeping our guys safe ? pic.twitter.com/Gfoy2tRA7l
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) May 26, 2024
Moreover, it was officially confirmed in May that Adrian Newey, Red Bull’s Chief Technical Officer was leaving the F1 team at the end of the 2024 season. Newey will remain with Red Bull but will move to work on the team’s hypercar project. Rumours have circulated suggesting that Newey is stepping back from the F1 side of Red Bull to allow him to move to a different team on the grid as soon as possible.
2025 lineup
On Tuesday 4th June, Red Bull Racing officially announced their 2025 driver lineup via their broadcast channel on Instagram. The Milton Keynes-based outfit confirmed that Perez has extended his contract with the team, signing a two-year deal. Thus, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez will take the two Red Bull F1 seats for next season.
Sergio Perez has signed a two-year extension with Red Bull. (Image Credit: @redbullracing on Instagram)¡Vamos Checo! ??
We are pleased to announce @SChecoPerez has signed a two-year extension to his existing contract ✍️
Nos complace anunciar que @SChecoPerez ha firmado una extensión de dos años a su contrato actual #F1 #RedBullRacing #ChecoPerez
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) June 4, 2024
Featured Image Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images on Red Bull Content Pool
