Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko has hit out at reports suggesting that Sergio Perez is facing a contract change at the team.
Perez signed with Red Bull ahead of the 2021 campaign and signed an extension to keep him at the Milton Keynes-based squad until at least the end of 2024.
However, the Mexican driver has endured a difficult season so far, despite taking two wins in the opening four races.
A run of five races in which he failed to reach Q3 placed question marks over his future at Red Bull beyond the current campaign.
Perez scored back-to-back podiums in Hungary and Belgium and currently sits second in the Drivers’ Championship ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
However, he is 125 points behind team-mate Max Verstappen who is on course to secure his third consecutive F1 title.
Reports following the Belgian Grand Prix suggested that the deficit between the two would mean a salary drop for Perez – a prospect that Marko has dismissed.
“I don’t know where that’s coming from again,” Marko told F1 Insider.
“It’s completely made up out of thin air. The contracts are precisely regulated. There will be no salary cuts.
“Max is driving in a league of his own. There is therefore no reason to think about measures affecting Perez. He still has a contract with Red Bull for 2024.”
Further pressure was placed on Perez’s shoulders following the return of Daniel Ricciardo, who is racing with AlphaTauri until the end of the season.
Ricciardo has outlined that he wishes to return to Red Bull in the near future to see out his F1 career.
Discussion about this post