23 August 2023 , 10:58
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Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez will again form a partnership at Red Bull next season despite the Mexican's struggles this season.
Christian Horner's team have dominated throughout 2023, winning all 12 Grand Prix races. Reigning world champion Verstappen has taken 10 of those wins, as he steams towards a third straight title amid a 125-point lead over his partner.
The duo are also essentially in an unassailable position in the constructors' battle, leading arch-rivals Mercedes by 256 points. But all has not been well between the two drivers, after the controversy of the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix when the Dutch star defied team orders to give up a place to Perez and aid his partner's bid to finish second in the standings.
The feud seemingly hadn't simmered ahead of the 2023 campaign, with Jos Verstappen, the father of Max, snubbing the chance to congratulate Perez after his win in Saudi Arabia. But despite the Mexican outlining his ambition to challenge for the title, a two-horse race has not materialised.
It's led to speculation over the future of the 33-year-old, who is currently contracted until the end of 2024. And Horner has now insisted that the team won't be releasing their No 2 driver before the end of his deal.
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“We have a contract,” the Team Principal told when asked about his future. “We’re happy with 'Checo' and he will be our driver next year."
At the start of the season, it appeared that the highly-rated Nyck de Vries was being readied for a possible switch to Red Bull. The Dutchman was signed up by sister team AlphaTauri, but that move turned sour with the 28-year-old cut just 10 races into the 2023 campaign.
Sergio Perez has struggled in Verstappen's shadow (Getty Images)It was widely viewed as a harsh call, but Horner also defended the move, arguing there was little point investing more time into De Vries: "But for us, it’s always good to have (options), the whole purpose of AlphaTauri and Toro Rosso before was to be training drivers as potential candidates for Red Bull Racing.
“That’s why, with Nyck, it didn’t feel like he was going to be a Red Bull Racing candidate. So then the argument you put is, does it make sense to keep going?”
Daniel Ricciardo has since taken the place of De Vries. 'The Honey Badger' came on-board as a reserve driver for Verstappen and Perez at the start of the 2023 campaign, a move perceived to have put pressure on the Mexican to perform, given Ricciardo's vast F1 experience.