Helmut Marko breaks silence on Sergio Perez decision amid Liberty Media intervention rumours

Helmut Marko (right) and Sergio Perez (left)

Red Bull’s Helmut Marko has opened up on the decision made by the team to continue with Sergio Perez after the summer break.

Following a disappointing run into the summer break, the chessboard appeared set up to have a driver change with Liam Lawson and Daniel Ricciardo vying for Sergio Perez’s seat at Red Bull – only for the Milton Keynes-based squad to commit to keeping the Mexican in his seat for the foreseeable future

Helmut Marko: Why Red Bull stuck with Sergio Perez

With Perez’s performances scarcely contributing towards Red Bull’s points score in a championship that is rapidly closing up as McLaren‘s two drivers chase down Red Bull’s lead, the decision to continue with the Mexican driver came as something of a surprise.

PlanetF1.com understands that there was some reluctance to put either Lawson or Ricciardo into the seat at this point of the season, with neither certain to represent a clear step forward from Perez’s performance level.

This was backed up by Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, who wrote about the reasons behind the decision in his column for Speedweek, in which the Austrian said Red Bull are waiting to see what Perez can produce at upcoming circuits – venues at which he has traditionally performed well, 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 relying on stability,” Marko said.

“He has repeatedly shown good performances in between, and he was also very fast on Saturday at the last race weekend in Spa, finishing third.

“He was allowed to start from second position and, according to the calculations, third place would have been possible. But we saw that his tyres had degraded significantly more. He couldn’t push and there was also the fact that we only had two sets of the medium tyres and one set of the hard compound, while the competition had two sets of the hard and one set of the medium tyres available. That was perhaps also a crucial point.

“Perez doesn’t have to become faster, but more consistent. And given the alternatives, he is still our best solution.”

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Did Liberty Media intervene on Red Bull Sergio Perez decision?

Rumours had circulated that F1’s commercial rights holder Liberty Media had intervened to request Red Bull keep Perez in his seat, fearing the possible impact on attendances at the Mexico City Grand Prix, but Marko quashed this speculation as being without merit.

“Reports that his continued involvement is due to Liberty Media’s wish for him to drive in Mexico are not true,” he said.

“They certainly want him to contest his home race, but our choice of driver is not based on Liberty’s intentions.”

Perez’s contract with Red Bull Racing runs until the end of the 2025 season, but there is still lingering doubt as to whether that full duration will be honoured.

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