Red Bull ‘cannot afford’ driver disparity as pressure grows on Perez

Red Bull boss Christian Horner admits his team “need answers” to their driver line-up dilemma as the pressure grows on Sergio Perez.
Mexican driver Perez trails teammate and championship leader Max Verstappen by 187 points after 18 races this year and has not won a grand prix since April 2023.
Perez has a contract with Red Bull until the end of 2025 – with an option to extend for 2026 – but Liam Lawson’s promotion to sister team RB for this weekend’s US Grand Prix indicates that Red Bull are assessing their options ahead of next year.
Having relinquished their spot at the top of the constructors’ standings to McLaren, Red Bull boss Horner acknowledges that his team “can’t afford a big gap” between Verstappen and his team-mate next year.
“We desperately need answers,” Horner told Autosport about Red Bull’s driver situation.
“I think when you look at our opponents, Ferrari will be strong next year, with [Lewis] Hamilton and [Charles] Leclerc. Plus McLaren with [Lando] Norris and [Oscar] Piastri is a strong line-up.
“We need to make sure that with both of our drivers, there’s not a big gap between them because you can’t afford to have that.”
Perez has been at Red Bull since 2021, when he replaced Alex Albon, but has struggled to match the performances of Verstappen throughout their four-year partnership.
Yuki Tsunoda, meanwhile, is staying at RB next year but could push to replace Perez with a strong ending to this season.
Daniel Ricciardo was axed by RB for Lawson after the last race in Singapore, with his level not up to the standard required to replace Perez.
Meanwhile, Perez will be eyeing a strong ending to the season, starting this weekend in Austin before F1 rolls around to his home race in Mexico City.