Sergio Perez in Red Bull also in 2025, but in other roles – Christian Horner confirms. Christian Horner confirms Sergio Perez’s involvement with Red Bull cars during some show runs.

Sergio Perez-Red Bull: Is it all over?
In the week leading up to Christmas, Red Bull officially confirmed the persistent rumors about Sergio Perez’s future away from the team in 2025. The parties reached a conclusion: the contract, originally valid until 2026, has been terminated, and Liam Lawson will be Max Verstappen‘s new teammate. ‘Checo’ will not even step down to the role of third driver. But have relations between #11 and Red Bull truly ended entirely?

The new role
Not entirely. Team Principal Christian Horner clarified this to talkSPORT, explaining that Sergio Perez has not been outright dismissed: “It’s a bit different,” the Briton explained. “This year was really tough for him, and last week we sat down—of course, we had talked about it a bit earlier—and decided it was the right thing for both sides to take a step back, for him to get out of the car, spend some time with his family, and decide what he wants to do. He will still be involved with the team. He will do a couple of show runs with us next year, but it was the right decision for him because it wasn’t pleasant for him either to face all these checks, pressures, and expectations every weekend.” – he pointed out.

The clauses
A sabbatical year, therefore, with the Mexican not returning to competitions but representing Red Bull in some exhibitions, driving Red Bull’s historic cars: “Sergio had signed a new contract, but of course, there are clauses,” added Christian Horner. “I won’t go into the contract details, but inevitably there are obligations between the team and the drivers. We sat down and discussed it. It’s about relationships, and we’ve always had a great relationship with Sergio. We simply talked as adults. He’s a fantastic guy. He’ll go off and figure out what he wants to do. Maybe he’ll want to come back to this sport, perhaps even next year.”