The Emilia Romagna Grand was a race to forget for Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez.
For the first time this season, he missed out on Q3 in Imola which given how difficult it is to overtake around the circuit turned out to be a disaster.
With his future on the line, he really needed to avoid a bad result, however, speaking on Sky Sports F1, journalist Craig Slater believes he may have some good news for Sergio Perez when it comes to his prospects of staying at Red Bull beyond 2025.
Sergio Perez may have received some ‘good news’ about his 2025 Red Bull prospects
The Formula 1 driver’s market is one of the biggest talking points in the paddock right now.
Considering the lack of action on the track at Imola, plenty of drivers and their management teams were busy working behind the scenes on their plans for 2025.
Half the grid knows who they’ll be driving for next year, but there are still plenty of opportunities to explore.
Arguably the most exciting for those outside of Red Bull is the prospect of becoming Max Verstappen’s next teammate.
That’s because Sergio Perez is out of contract at the end of the year and despite finishing 2 in the Drivers’ Championship last season, he ended the campaign under a little bit of pressure.
READ MORE: Red Bull driver Sergio Perez’s life outside F1 from net worth to nickname
Team principal Christian Horner had some fair criticism for the 34-year-old and up until Imola he seemed to have taken that onboard.
However, even though Perez isn’t close to agreeing a deal with Red Bull for 2025, he may have received some good news about his chances of being retained for a fifth season.
It involves Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz and his attempts to potentially replace the Mexican next year as he seeks a new seat on the grid after losing his place in the Ferrari set-up.
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Sergio Perez may have an advantage over Carlos Sainz in the battle for a Red Bull seat
Speaking about the second Red Bull seat, Slater said: “The reason Carlos Sainz has not accepted that big money offer from Sauber/Audi is that he is holding out potentially for that Red Bull seat.
“But it’s been hot and cold and hot and cold in terms of the signals he’s been getting from Red Bull, so is it in the balance that one?
“Interestingly, what I have heard is that the point of contact for Sainz’s people at Red Bull is not Helmut Marko anymore, it’s now Christian Horner.
“That could be good news for [Sergio] Perez. Perez has been conspicuously supportive of Christian Horner this season during all of his issues.
“If you had to force me to put someone in that seat alongside [Max] Verstappen next year, it would be Perez.”
READ MORE: Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz’s life outside F1 from full name, girlfriend and height
Sergio Perez needs to avoid a repeat of 2023 slump to guarantee Red Bull future
Horner taking over talks with Sainz might be good news for Perez’s chance to secure a drive in 2025 but only if he makes sure his performance at Imola was just a blip rather than the start of a worrying trend.
Last year, Perez started the season brilliantly, winning two of the first five races before Verstappen kicked his performances up a gear in Miami.
Perez never recovered, frequently missing out on Q3 on Saturdays and having to execute recovery drives on a weekly basis.
With McLaren and Ferrari closing the gap this year, Red Bull can’t afford for Perez to be a passenger.
That makes Carlos Sainz an interesting alternative and he’s delaying signing a deal with Audi in case they decide to part ways with the Mexican.
The post ‘Interestingly’: Sky journalist shares the ‘good news’ he’s heard for Sergio Perez ahead of 2025 Red Bull call appeared first on F1 Oversteer.