Christian Horner has ‘preferred candidate’ to replace Sergio Perez, talks are ‘already advanced’

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Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner has to prepare for every eventually ahead of next season and now has a preferred candidate to replace Sergio Perez should they decide to part ways with the Mexican driver.

Sergio Perez has entered the final year of his current contract but after back-to-back 2^nd-place finishes in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, he failed to capitalise on Max Verstappen’s retirement in Melbourne.

A report from F1 Insider suggests that Red Bull know who they want to bring in for 2025 should they decide that Perez isn’t the right option going forward.

Finding the right teammate for Max Verstappen isn’t easy and several drivers have failed to cope with the expectation.

It might explain why the 50-year-old team principal is already in talks with his latest choice.

Sergio Perez under pressure to keep Red Bull seat

Perez finished second to Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship in 2023 but was a long way off the Dutchman.

After winning two of the first four races that season, he hasn’t stood on the top step of the podium since.

His performances in qualifying have been called into question, but as long as he’s finishing second to his teammate, that’s the most important thing to the team.

He had no trouble making his way through the grid in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, but the race in Australia highlighted why Red Bull might be considering their options.

Max Verstappen’s retirement handed the victory to Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc was untroubled in second.

Perez couldn’t even catch up to either McLaren driver and suddenly there’s been a huge points swing in the Constructors’ Championship.

This has forced Christian Horner to consider who would be his preferred candidate to replace Sergio Perez in 2025.

Not only that, Red Bull have already discussed this with Max Verstappen’s representatives and entered ‘advanced’ talks with the two-time world champion…

Fernando Alonso now Christian Horner’s ‘preferred candidate’ to replace Sergio Perez

The report from F1 Insider suggests that Horner’s number one choice to replace Perez is none other than Fernando Alonso.

They believe Verstappen’s camp ‘already knows’ which driver they should expect to be lining up alongside him in 2025.

Talks are said to be ‘already advanced’ with the 42-year-old and he’s still considered one of the best drivers on the grid.

While Perez is very much a second driver at Red Bull, Alonso believes he has the full support of Horner and can win his third world title with the team.

Alonso would be Verstappen’s toughest opponent at Red Bull

Since joining the Red Bull team, Max Verstappen has seen off plenty of teammates.

Alex Albon has talked about the difficulties he faced when up against the 26-year-old, while Pierre Gasly and Daniel Ricciardo were both outclassed by the Dutchman.

However, Fernando Alonso would be a completely different calibre of teammate for Verstappen.

He’s shown in a middling Aston Martin that he can still race against the fastest drivers.

Alonso has been suggested as a potential candidate to replace Verstappen, but he’s now Horner’s preferred teammate for him if Sergio Perez leaves.

It’s going to be interesting who eventually ends up driving for Red Bull in 2025 and beyond given the unrest within the team at the moment.