Red Bull won’t make a decision any time soon about who will partner Max Verstappen next season, according to team principal Christian Horner.
Asked during today’s FIA press conference how close the team is to announcing its drivers for next year, Horner said: “Not very, I’m afraid.”
Lewis Hamilton’s surprise announcement during the off-season that he will drive for Ferrari next year triggered early moves on the market for 2025. Last week Aston Martin announced it had signed a new deal with Fernando Alonso for next year.
“It’s incredible that we’re at race five and there’s so much talk already about drivers for next year,” Horner continued.
“We’re in a situation where we’re very happy with our two drivers. But we don’t need to make a final decision about the line-up until much later in the year.”
The team has Verstappen under contract for next year but his current team mate, Sergio Perez, is out of contract at the end of the season. “But he’s been driving exceptionally well so far this season,” Horner acknowledged.
Perez’s future looked uncertain during his poor 2023 campaign but he has helped the team score three one-two finishes already this season. Asked why he was driving better Horner joked: “Probably because he’s out of contract!
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“No, I think he’s worked hard over the winter. He’s come in with a change, perhaps, slightly to his approach to grand prix weekends and he’s been very close in the four races so far this season. Particularly at a track like Suzuka, where last year he struggled quite a bit, certainly this year he was very competitive.”
Perez previously indicated he expected to announce his 2025 plans in the near future. “Of course, he would like to make an announcement tomorrow, undoubtedly,” said Horner. “But we as a team aren’t in a particular rush.
“We’re in a fortunate position where many drivers would obviously like to drive for the team, but we’re happy with the pairing that we have, we just want to make sure that the level of consistency that Checo has started with this season maintains, and in due course, we’ll evaluate those options.
“But, as I say, at this point in time, we’re very happy with the line-up that we have. So there’s no imminent rush to announce the full driver line-up for 2025.”
Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko claimed this week the team had been out-bid for Carlos Sainz Jnr’s services by Audi, who will join F1 in 2026. Sainz was previously a member of Red Bull’s Junior Team and made his debut in F1 with Toro Rosso, which is now RB.
However Horner said any talk of approaches made to other drivers is “pure speculation.”
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“We have no idea if and what Audi have offered Carlos, who’s a key driver that’s on the open market, so it’s only natural that there’s going to be significant interest,” he said.
“I’m sure Audi would be foolish not to consider a driver of his quality amongst others that have seats available, but it would be improper to disclose what offers are made. That’s something that’s not been disclosed to us, as to what offers have been made other teams.”
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