If winning the Monaco Grand Prix wasn’t exciting enough for Sergio Perez then perhaps inking a new 2-year deal just before the race was the inspiration for the win? Sergio has certainly earned his spot by earnings 110 point so far this season and placing himself firmly in the championship hunt just 15 points behind his teammate, Max Verstappen.
The bigger question might be, what does a driver like Pierre Gasly do? While you could argue he’s having a tough season so far at Alpha Tauri, one presumes this leaves him looking elsewhere for a drive when his contract expires at the end of 2023. Or, he could be happy where he is and seek to stay at Alpha Tauri.
Commenting on today’s announcement, Oracle Red Bull Racing Team Principal and CEO Christian Horner said: “Since joining Oracle Red Bull Racing, Checo has done a fantastic job. Time and again he has proved himself to not only be a magnificent team player but as his level of comfort has grown he has become a real force to be reckoned with at the sharp end of the grid. This year he has taken another step and the gap to World Champion Max has closed significantly, evidenced by his superb pole position in Jeddah earlier this year and by his wonderful win in Monaco just last weekend. For us, holding onto his pace, race craft and experience was a no-brainer and we are delighted that Checo will continue to race for the team until 2024. In partnership with Max we believe we have a driver pairing that can bring us the biggest prizes in F1.”
Checo added: “For me, this has been an incredible week, winning the Monaco Grand Prix is a dream for any driver and then to follow that with announcing I will continue with the Team until 2024 just makes me extremely happy. I am so proud to be a member of this Team and I feel completely at home here now. We are working very well together and my relationship with Max, on and off the track, is definitely helping drive us forward even more. We have built tremendous momentum as a Team and this season is showing that, I am excited to see where that can take us all in the future.”
Well done Checo. Right place, right time and making the most of it. Not only well deserved, but you suspect he’s also had to overcome an organisational preference to have Red Bull drivers in the car. He had a real setchy period in the middle of last season but oercame it and hasn’t looked back.
I think Gasly will look elsewhere and it’s probably the end of Albon’s RBR hopes, however I do see it as RB/AT giving themselves a timeframe to groom the next Seb/Max (could Yuki do it?)