By Joiner Martinez
19 Jul 2024, 16:27 PM EDT
After all the rumours that have been emerging in recent weeks about possible performance clauses in Sergio Pérez’s contract, the Mexican assured on the eve of the Hungarian GP that all these speculations are completely false.
These statements are not in line with what Helmut Marko said a few days ago, confirming that they will evaluate Checo’s performance during the summer break to make a decision.
The recent performances of the Guadalajara-born driver have left much to be desired: he has only accumulated 15 points in the last six races. Despite having had a good start to the season, which led Red Bull to renew his contract until 2026, he has not managed to achieve consistent results, just as happened last season.
Because of this, his future at Milton Kenyes’ team has been questioned by many, something that Perez himself has also spoken about: “It’s difficult to silence the external noise, but at the end of the day, I come here to give my best, to push myself to the limit. At the end of the day, the noise, I think it’s obviously much greater when you’re at Red Bull. I think that’s the beauty of this challenge and that’s why I love it. That’s why I decided to sign and extend my contract with the team because I love the challenge. It’s really tough, but it brings out absolutely everything in you and that’s why I want to stay here,” he declared.
As for the alleged performance clauses that would allow Red Bull to fire him if he did not comply with them, the Mexican flatly denied the existence of such stipulations: “There is nothing related to that. Obviously, I can’t talk about my contract, but there is nothing related to that. What I have said is that the next two races are very important for me. I want to go on vacation in a good spirit and I think it is good for the team to go on vacation on a high.”
“I don’t talk about anything else. I am totally focused and dedicated and I will be here, and I will be here again next year, and that is nothing different. I am totally committed to myself,” Checo concluded.
He also said that he loves being in a team like Red Bull, the current two-time champion in the Constructors’ Championship, where criticism is greater than in the rest and sharing a seat with the most dominant driver of the moment, Max Verstappen.
“It’s hard to shut out the external noise, but at the end of the day, I come here to give my best, to push myself to the limit. At the end of the day, the noise, I think it’s obviously a lot bigger when you’re at Red Bull. But I think that’s the beauty of this challenge and that’s why I love it. That’s why I decided to sign and extend my contract with the team because I love the challenge. It’s really tough, but it brings out absolutely everything in you and that’s why I want to stay here,” he concluded.
After racing at the Hungaroring on July 21, the Big Top caravan will take on the Belgian GP at Spa next week, before the summer break which will take a month off, before resuming on August 25 in the Netherlands.
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