Sergio Perez future update: “It’s his seat to lose” after “strong” Japanese GP

Christian Horner has declared that the Red Bull seat for 2025 is Sergio Perez’s “to lose” following a strong weekend at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Perez qualified within a tenth of Max Verstappen at Suzuka on Saturday before helping Red Bull secure their third 1-2 finish of the season.

The Mexican’s performance was particularly impressive because as he endured one of his worst weekends as a Red Bull driver in Japan last year.

Perez's future is still uncertain with Red Bull undecided on who will partner Verstappen for next year.

Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso have been rumoured, however, Perez’s impressive form will surely make him the favourite to secure another year with the team.

Speaking on Sunday after the race, Horner says Perez has “started the season in the best possible way”.

“I think his confidence is high, he’s very focused on the job at hand, and he’s comfortable in the team,” Horner said.

“And he knows he’s out of contract for next year, it’s his seat to lose, he’s very popular in the team, and he’s started the season in the best possible way.”

While Perez finished over 12 seconds behind his teammate, it was a relatively smooth race for him.

The high tyre degradation at Suzuka meant that the undercut was powerful meaning Perez lost out on track position to the likes of Lando Norris through the pit stop phase.

Perez then carved his way back through, pulling off some daring overtakes into the high-speed left-hander of 130R.

Horner admitted he had to close his eyes when Perez was attempting these ballsy overtakes.

“I thought Checo in particular has had a strong weekend,” Horner added. “To qualify within a tenth of his teammate here.

“Race pace was strong obviously, he had the disadvantage of having to come back through the traffic.

“There were a couple of moments where, I must admit, I had my eyes shut as he went into 130R… do you need to do it there? Can’t you wait until the straight?

“He didn’t look like he had three kids when he made that move!”