Sergio Perez Remaining with Red Bull Racing Through End of Year

Posted on August 2, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Sergio Perez is staying in the red (bull)…

The 34-year-old Mexican racing driver will remain a Formula One driver beyond the summer break and until the end of the year, Red Bull has confirmed.

The shock decision was announced by Horner to the Red Bull factory, sources confirmed to ESPN.

“Checo remains a Red Bull Racing driver despite recent speculation and we look forward to seeing him perform at tracks he has previously excelled at after the summer break,” Horner said.

Perez’s future has been hanging in the balance for a while and as recently as the Belgian Grand Prix weekend sources had told ESPN he could be replaced over the summer break, which runs until the end of August.

On Monday, Horner and Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko held a meeting to discuss a number of issues including the future of Perez.

The outcome of that discussion was an agreement Perez should see out the season with the team.

The Mexican driver has failed to score a podium since the Chinese GP in April and his poor form, coupled with McLaren’s resurgence, has left Red Bull under threat in the constructors’ championship.

He has accumulated just 28 points over the last eight races.

According to sources, plenty of people within Red Bull fear the team will lose the constructors’ championship to McLaren this season and most point to Perez as the reason why.

Focus will now turn to the upcoming Imola test of RB‘s Daniel Ricciardo and Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson on Wednesday.

Originally viewed as an audition for the Perez seat, that may well now be a straight shootout — either for Ricciardo to keep his seat beyond the break or for Lawson to replace him at the Dutch Grand Prix and beyond.

Ricciardo, still without a contract extension for 2025, saw an uptick in performance before the summer break which appeared to have moved him closer to staying put this season.

Sergio Perez Expected to Extend Contract with Red Bull

Posted on May 28, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Sergio Pérez is staying in the red…

The 34-year-old Mexican motorsports racing driver remains the front-runner to stay with Red Bull in 2025, per ESPN sources.

Pérez, whose contract expires at the end of 2024, endured a tough weekend at the Monaco Grand Prix, qualifying 18th before being involved in a collision on the first lap.

Red Bull has been in no rush to make a decision about his future, with Carlos Sainz still yet to decide what he does next year when Lewis Hamilton replaces him at Ferrari.

Sainz is reportedly monitoring the situation at Red Bull before committing to either Williams or Sauber (which will become Audi in 2026), with the long-term future of Max Verstappen also uncertain beyond 2025.

Verstappen, who has doubts about Red Bull’s 2026 engine project, has been linked with a move to Mercedes for that season, which is the start of a new set of regulations.

However, it looks unlikely Red Bull opt for Sainz at this stage. Multiple sources have told ESPN that Red Bull still favor Pérez and that only a drastic drop in form over the next few races could change that situation, which lines up with team boss Christian Horner‘s comments to the media after the Monaco Grand Prix.

“This weekend’s been pretty brutal for him,” Horner said on Sunday. “Obviously we need to make sure that we have got both cars up there scoring points, because we cannot dismiss the threat of Ferrari and McLaren in both championships.

“Checo’s first six races, he was very strong, qualifying on the front row and finishing second and third and scoring very well. We just need to get back into that position of confidence and not to see a dip.”

Asked if Pérez’s last few results have delayed a decision, Horner said: “Not really. I think that it’s more our timing. We’ll make a decision in the fullness of time.”

Until Red Bull decides what to do with Pérez, it is likely Williams and Audi will be waiting on Sainz.

Audi is overseeing negotiations at Sauber, having brought forward its investment in the team earlier this year.

Audi has already signed Nico Hülkenberg to its project and is understood to be considering back-up options in case Sainz goes elsewhere, although the company’s might find it difficult to find another marquee signing with race-winning pedigree.

Williams have been in talks with Sainz ever since Ferrari decided to replace him with Lewis Hamilton next year and over the Monaco Grand Prix it emerged they are increasingly confident of securing his services from 2025 onwards.

Marc Anthony Buys E1 Electric Powerboating Team in Miami

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

It’s smooth racing for Marc Anthony…

The 55-year-old Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and actor has expanded his sport-related empire by becoming the owner of the new E1 electric race boat championship Team Miami.

Anthony, a minority owner of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins and owner of the artists and athletes agency Magnus Media, joins a star-studded line-up of E1 team owners that includes Tom Brady, Rafael Nadal, Steve Aoki, Sergio Perez, Didier Drogba and Virat Kohli.

Their respective teams will compete in the first-ever E1 event next February 2-3 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. E1 is the first electric raceboat championship sanctioned by the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM), the world governing body of powerboating, and promotes a racing series powered solely by electric, and based on clean technologies to protect our waters and coastal areas.

In addition to owning the new team, Anthony and Magnus will also host E1 in the U.S in a 2025 Miami event that will include races, the Acceleration Festival fan village and a star-studded live concert.

“It is going to be a couple of days of culture, entertainment, style, sexiness, just the right amount of danger,” says Anthony in a video released on Monday (December 18). “It’s a blank canvas. I’m making every phone call. I’m starting now for what’s going to happen in 2025.”

While Anthony is first and foremost a music star, he has stakes in many ventures, including a minority ownership in the NFL’s Dolphins. That experience in particular has helped him understand the intricacies of running a team and provided him with the macro view of launching a championship and making the experience as “exhilarating” as possible, he says.

“It wasn’t only just owning the Miami Dolphins,” he says in the announcement video. “It was the stadium and the 300 acres around it. I see it the same way. I’m interested in finding a way that the race experience […]is as eventful as possible and quality and hair-raising.”

Felipe Pimiento, COO of Magnus added: “This is a very exciting venture for us at Magnus. It continues to solidify our footprint in the sports world at various levels.” Anthony joins a list of hugely influential owners that E1’s founders hope will help amplify E1 presence and awareness.

“E1’s list of owners exemplifies how our championship’s strategy is leading the way in sport marketing, and we are thrilled to have Marc join our roster of global icons,” says Rodi Basso, CEO and co-founder of E1.

“It’s a great sign for the future of E1 that we are already speaking about our season 2 destinations, and with Marc bringing our championship to Miami, I could think of no finer place for E1 to make its United States debut,” adds Alejandro Agag, Chairman and co-founder of E1.

Carlos Sainz Claims First Career Formula One Victory at British Grand Prix

Posted on July 3, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Sainz has found the winning formula…

The 27-year-old Spanish racing driver has claimed his first Formula One victory ahead of Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton at a rollercoaster and action-packed British Grand Prix.

The race, one of the best of the season so far, included a dramatic crash at the start which saw Zhou Guanyu‘s car flipped over tire barrier, protesters forcing their way onto the track on the opening lap and championship leader Max Verstappen dropping down the order with a damaged car.

Sainz’s chances of a first win appeared to have completely disappeared at two different points in the race, first after a big mistake at Becketts and then after he obeyed a team order to let teammate Charles Leclerc through on Lap 32 of 52.

A late Safety Car and race restart 10 laps later provided a perfect opportunity for Sainz to reclaim the lead and scamper away with the win as an unbelievable finish unfolded in the battle for second behind him between Perez, Hamilton and Leclerc.

“Yes! We did it! Yes! Vamos!” Sainz shouted over the radio after crossing the line, securing his first win in 151 F1 attempts.

Home favorite Hamilton had looked in a perfect position to challenge the Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz for his first victory of the season until that Safety Car deployment and immediately lost position to Perez at the restart.

An epic battle for second and third then unfolded between Perez, Hamilton and Leclerc, featuring multiple position changes and some aggressive driving from all three drivers.

On lap 48, Perez forced Leclerc wide at the final corner, allowing Hamilton up into second. Several corners later, Perez forced Hamilton wide to reclaim the position and the Mercedes driver fell behind Leclerc.

Leclerc turned in some incredible defensive driving to keep Hamilton at bay for as long as he could in the closing stages but in the end could not do anything about the major tyre disadvantage he had been left with at the Safety Car restart.

For Hamilton it was his second visit to the podium in two races and a clear sign of the progress Mercedes has made in recent races.

Leclerc had to settle for fourth position, having lost a rare opportunity to make a bigger dent in Verstappen’s championship lead.

Verstappen finished seventh after holding off Haas’ Mick Schumacher in the run to the finish line.

Verstappen still holds a healthy lead in the championship, 34 points ahead of teammate Perez and 43 ahead of Leclerc.

Sainz’s win moved him ahead of George Russell, who did not finish, and into fourth position in the title fight.

The events of the first 10 seconds of the race set the tone for the dramatic afternoon which followed.

Alfa Romeo rookie Zhou Gaunyu was vaulted into a terrifying barrel roll at Turn 1 which left his car upside down in the tire barrier and prompted a red flag race suspension.

Zhou had been tagged by the Mercedes of George Russell, who in turn had been hit by Pierre Gasly‘s AlphaTauri.

Russell’s race ended in the gravel trap at Turn 1, while Alex Albon was also spun into the wall at Turn 1.

Gasly was later spun around by teammate Yuki Tsunoda.

All those incidents opened up a perfect opportunity for Haas to bounce back from a deflating Saturday which had seen both drivers eliminated in Q1, as Schumacher finally claimed the first F1 points of his career.

An emotional Schumacher apologized to Haas after finishing after swearing over the radio as he celebrated the finish.

Teammate Kevin Magnussen claimed the final points paying position of the afternoon in 10th.

Sergio Pérez to Drive Alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull Next Year

Posted on December 25, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Sergio Pérez is racing forward with Red Bull…

The 30-year-old Mexican racing driver will drive alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull next year, replacing Alex Albon, who will be demoted to the role of reserve driver.

Pérez has signed a one-year deal with the team for the 2021 season.

Red Bull’s 2021 driver lineup has been a source of constant speculation this year, with Albon struggling to match Verstappen for pace and points throughout the season.

Pérez said Red Bull was an option for next year as early as October after his Racing Point team announced in September that it would replace him with four-time champion Sebastian Vettel in 2021.

However, with Pérez’s options outside Red Bull limited and Albon under contract regardless of the decision, the team waited until the end of the season before announcing its decision.

Team boss Christian Horner said: “Alex is a valued member of the team and we thought long and hard about this decision.

“Having taken our time to evaluate all the relevant data and performances, we have decided that Sergio is the right driver to partner Max for 2021 and look forward to welcoming him to Red Bull Racing. Alex remains an important part of our team as test and reserve driver with a key focus on 2022 development, and we would like to thank him for his hard work and contribution.”

Albon, who joined Toro Rosso in 2019 and was promoted to Red Bull midway through his rookie year in F1, will remain at the team in a reserve role.

Albon initially performed well at Red Bull after replacing Pierre Gasly from the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix onward, but has struggled to get to grips with this year’s Red Bull car.

He has scored less than half the points of Verstappen this year with just 105, qualified on average 0.5s off his teammate and taken just two podiums compared to Verstappen’s 11.

Perez became a first-time race winner at the Sakhir Grand Prix this month and finished fourth in the championship with 125 points.

Sergio Perez ThisClose to New Deal with Force India for 2018

Posted on August 21, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

It looks like Sergio Perez may be staying put…

The 27-year-old Mexican driver is thisclose to agreeing to a new deal to stay with Force India for 2018, according to team officials.

At the Hungarian Grand Prix ahead of Formula One‘s summer break, Perez said he wanted to have his future resolved by the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of the month.

The Mexican said he was keen on staying with the Silverstone-based outfit for a fifth campaign, following another successful season.

Force India heads into the second half of 2017 occupying fourth place in the constructors’ standings as it looks to equal its best-ever finish in F1. Having only missed out on points with at least one of its cars on one occasion this year — at May’s Monaco Grand Prix — Force India is 60 points clear of nearest rivals Williams and 83 behind third-placed Red Bull, while Perez is the highest placed driver outside of the big three teams in seventh place in the drivers’ championship.

Perez has been linked with a possible switch to Renault or Ferrari over the past year but has already begun talks to extend his spell at Force India alongside teammate Esteban Ocon, who joined the team on a multi-year deal at the end of 2016.

Perez to Race for Sahara Force India Next Season

Posted on December 14, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

May the (Sahara) Force be with Sergio Perez…

The 23-year-old Mexican Formula One driver will race next season for British-based team Sahara Force India after signing a multi-year contract.

Perez announced last month that he would be leaving McLaren, also based in England, at the end of the 2013 Formula One season, which concluded on November 24.

Perez and Germany’s Nico Hülkenberg, who is returning after competing for Sauber in 2013, will be Force India’s race drivers next season. The two finished 11th and 10th, respectively, in last year’s F1 Drivers’ Standings.

“Coming here was always my first choice and I’m really happy everything has now been confirmed,” Perez was quoted as saying in a news release on Force India’s Web site, which did not indicate the length of the deal.

“This is a young team with a lot of determination and they’ve produced competitive cars for the last few years. It’s all change for next season with the new regulations, but I already have a good feeling about 2014,” the driver added.

Force India Team Principal and Managing Director Vijay Mallya, for his part, praised Perez’s “healthy mix of youth and experience” and said he possesses “incredible talent.”

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