Red Bull Advisor Helmut Marko has refuted claims that Formula 1 commercial rights holder Liberty Media was behind the team’s retention of Sergio Perez beyond the summer break.
Perez’s slump in form, to the tune of just 28 points scored across the last eight races has seen Red Bull’s advantage in the Constructors’ standings shrink to just 42 points over McLaren.
With McLaren firing on both fronts through Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, many questioned whether Perez’s future at Red Bull was certain, even with a multi-year contract extension signed ahead of this year’s Canadian Grand Prix.
However, after a meeting held on Monday, July 29, Marko and Red Bull Team Principal Chrisitan Horner elected to retain Perez beyond the Formula 1 summer break.
With no sign of the Mexican’s form improving and all signs prior pointing toward a swap with Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull’s decision was seen as somewhat of a surprising U-turn.
Immediately, this led to conspiracies that Liberty Media were involved in the decision, pushing Red Bull to retain Perez due to his immense popularity at his home Grand Prix in Mexico, due to take place this October.
Marko has dismissed these rumours as false in his regular column in Speedweek, writing: “Reports that his continued involvement is due to Liberty Media’s wish for him to drive in Mexico are not true.
“[Liberty] certainly want him to contest his home race, but our choice of driver is not based on Liberty’s intentions.”
Marko noted that Perez’s retention is based on performance, with tracks well-suited to the Mexican approach on the F1 calendar, such as Baku and Singapore.
“Sergio Perez will also be in the Red Bull Racing car after the summer break because we now have races on the tracks where he was good last year and we are banking on stability,” he said.
“He has repeatedly shown good performances in between, and he was also very fast in third place on Saturday at the last race weekend in Spa.
“Perez doesn’t have to become faster, but more consistent and, given the alternatives, he is still our best solution.”
