Red Bull clarify Perez rumours as he does “something he’s not done previously”

Perez is contracted for 2024 but Daniel Ricciardo’s return at AlphaTauri has ramped up the pressure on him to keep his Red Bull seat.

Rumours circulated that if Perez loses P2 in the drivers’ standings he will be axed from Red Bull’s plans next year.

"It's not something that we have discussed or even contemplated," team principal Horner told the Daily Mirror. 

"Checo is our driver and we want to support him in the best way that we can.

"We believe that he can achieve that second place in the championship but he is up against tough competitors with a lot of racing still to go. 

“We selected Checo in the first place because of his experience and his ability to be able to deal with pressure. 

“He did a lot for us in '21 and '22, contributing to the constructors' championship last year and this year with the victories he has achieved.

"We know what he is capable of and we haven't seen that for the last couple of races. We want to support him to make sure he gets back to that early-season form. 

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“It's a tough season and tough being Max's team-mate – we mustn't forget the challenge that is mentally.

"We know what Checo is capable of and we know that qualifying tends to be his weakness, but when racing he comes alive on a Sunday afternoon. He's demonstrated that time and time again. We have six one-two finishes this year, he's won two Grands Prix and he's still second in the world championship 30 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton. It's not all been bad!"

Perez has only scored five points in the past three F1 rounds, ahead of this weekend’s United States Grand Prix.

But he has taken drastic action to reverse his fortunes.

“He was on the simulator for three days last week, which is not something he has ever done previously," Horner said.

"Three days in succession to try to help him to get to the root cause of some of the issues he felt he had in Qatar and Japan. 

“I think he made some great progress so, hopefully, that will come to the fore this weekend. He's going the extra yard, which is so important."

Ricciardo returns from injury this weekend for AlphaTauri, and attention will be on his performance in the coming weeks, as he is seemingly in pole position to replace Perez should Red Bull opt for a change.