Christian Horner comments may point to ‘escape clause’ in Sergio Perez contract

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Sergio Perez has struggled for form in the races before and after he signed an extension at Red Bull. The team announced the news ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix but many have questioned the decision since.

Immediately prior to penning his extension, Perez had failed to reach Q3 on back-to-back weekends. He had to settle for eighth at Imola after starting 11th, and he was involved in a race-ending crash on the first lap of the Monaco GP following a Q1 exit.

If Christian Horner and co. hoped that the new deal would be a boost, they were mistaken. Perez suffered another DNF in Montreal, and while he returned to the points in Barcelona, he was once again only eighth.

In Austria last weekend, he qualified on the fourth row while Max Verstappen took pole position by four-tenths of a second. He would then come home seventh, in between the two cars of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen.

Perez shared an image of the damage to his car on social media after the race. But in truth, it was the kind of performance many had come to expect from the Mexican.

His run of 15 points from five races (including a Sprint weekend in Austria) has seen him fall to fifth in the championship. The gap to Verstappen (119 points) is the second largest between teammates at this stage of an F1 season, only behind Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso at Ferrari in 2012.

Christian Horner ‘pressure’ warning may indicate Sergio Perez ‘escape clause’

Speaking on the Racing News 365 Podcast, journalist Ian Parkes floated the possibility that there may be a break clause in Perez’s new deal. Red Bull initially described it as a two-year agreement.

But in reality, it’s a one-plus-one contract. Perez will have to meet certain performance parameters in 2025 to trigger the second year.

But Parkes has suggested that Red Bull may also have the option to tear up the deal this year too. He’s basing this on remarks from Horner, who told the media in Austria that Perez faced ‘pressure’ because he was ‘underdelivering’.

This would be good news for Carlos Sainz. The departing Ferrari driver has been holding out hope of an offer from Red Bull, though his focus recently on their strained relationship with Max Verstappen’s camp.

Parkes said: “I’m now wondering, given certain comments from Christian, whether that might be an escape clause on Red Bull’s side, given the way Checo is underperforming. He’s made clear that, regardless of a contract, there’s always pressure to perform on a driver. Right now, that pressure is being applied on Checo Perez.”

Helmut Marko admits Perez is ‘notoriously’ poor in one area

Even if Red Bull are obliged to field Perez next year, he needs to start delivering to ensure the team don’t start making succession plans. Silverstone hasn’t been his strongest track, with the 34-year-old only scoring one podium at the venue during his F1 career.

His engineers may be focusing on qualifying as they try to extract more performance. Perez hasn’t started higher than eighth since Miami at the start of May, with progress from Red Bull’s rivals bumping him down the pecking order.

Executive director Helmut Marko admits he’s ‘notoriously not so good’ on Saturdays. And that in turn means he’s getting caught up in the midfield in the races, rather than supporting Verstappen towards the front.

His struggles are putting Red Bull at risk in the constructors’ championship. Over the past five races, both Red Bull and Mercedes have outscored the Milton Keynes outfit, even though Verstappen has picked up three wins.