Mexican Formula One Driver Sergio Perez Signs Red Bull Extension Through 2024
Mexican Formula One driver Sergio “Checo” Perez has committed to continue driving with the Red Bull team in a two-year extension through the 2024 season.
The new deal was inked on the heels of his most recent victory at the Monaco Grand Prix, making it the third win of his career.
The 32-year-old racing star is also ranked third in the driver standings for this season, which puts him just 15 points behind his Red Bull teammate, Max Verstappen.
In his official statement, the Guadalajara native said,
“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.”
Perez became an F1 driver in 2011 at the Australian Grand Prix, eventually working with a number of Formula One teams before a surprise victory at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, which earned him a spot on Red Bull’s roster.
Perez holds the record for driving in the most Formula One races before his first win, at 190. He’s won two more races since joining the Red Bull team, including his victory in Monaco this past week.
Next month, he’ll be defending his Baku win at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
According to a statement: “Since joining Red Bull, Checo [Perez] has done a fantastic job,” said Oracle Red Bull Racing Team principal and CEO Christian Horner.
“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.”
Horner mentions how the gap between Perez and Verstappen has closed quite a bit in the last year, with Perez now ranking as the number three Formula One driver. He also said that keeping Perez on the team was an easy decision.
“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.”