Former employer backs Perez to retain his Red Bull position

The Mexican driver, whose contract expires at the end of the season, has been under more pressure to succeed and continue in the sport.

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Even though Perez helped the team win first in the world championship, teammate Max Verstappen outperformed the 34-year-old, finishing with more than twice as many points as Perez.

Perez is still vying for the Red Bull driver’s seat for the upcoming season, although a number of other drivers, like as Carlos Sainz and the McLaren tandem of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, have been connected to the reigning champions.

Drivers such as Carlos Sainz are connected to the seat, and Sergio Perez is facing pressure to remain at Red Bull.

During Perez’s tenure at Racing Point, Szafnauer—who had previously served as the team principal for Alpine and Aston Martin—managed the Mexican driver’s maiden Formula One victory at the Sakhir GP in 2020.

The American disclosed to the media during the launch of his new app EventR that he would prefer Perez to take the Red Bull seat the following season.

He stated, “I was asked, ‘If you were Christian Horner, who would you replace Checo with?'” when in Abu Dhabi two days ago for an F1 event.

“Knowing Checo as well as I do, I declared, ‘I would replace Checo with Checo’. I still would have kept him for the following year if I were Christian. Remember that Max won [the title] in the first year [2021] due in part to Checo and in part to the circumstances.

“However, there were certain races that helped [Verstappen] win, and that’s when Checo became known as the ‘Minister of Defence’ in Mexico. That was what he did. Yes, he has experienced some low points, but as far as this year is concerned, aside from a few races in which I believe he ought to have placed a little higher, I believe he is succeeding.”