Sergio Perez reveals real reason behind crunch Red Bull talks between Horner and Marko

Sergio Perez has denied senior Red Bull figures met in the summer break to discuss his future despite reports to the contrary.

With the Mexican driver under intense pressure, Red Bull higher ups Christian Horner and Helmut Marko were reported to have met to discuss the driver’s future but Perez now says that was to focus on car performances issues.

Sergio Perez denies Christian Horner-Helmut Marko Red Bull crunch meeting

Red Bull confirmed Perez would be staying for the foreseeable future during the summer break following the meeting between Horner and Marko on the Monday after Spa but Perez now claims his own future was never part of the discussions.

“It was mainly pure speculation,” Perez told reporters, including PlanetF1.com, at Zandvoort. “I think the meeting had nothing to do with the drivers. [It] was all about the performance.

“I think I already said everything I had to regarding speculation. I’m fully committed to the team. I’ve got a contract for the next two years and I’m fully committed to Red Bull, to turn things around and I’ve said everything I had to.”

Red Bull’s show of faith comes after Perez has failed to finish higher than seventh in the last eight races, throwing Red Bull’s hopes of retaining the Constructors’ crown into doubt. Perez, though, suggested that the summer break had been pivotal for the team and that they now had a better understanding of their car for the final 10 races of the F1 2024 season.

“It was a very positive break for Red Bull, we were able to find a lot of stuff that, I think at least we know where we are with the car right now,” the 34-year-old said.

“There’s been an upgrade or two that probably took us in the wrong path and I think just looking back at it right now, we know exactly how the car is working, which is a very good thing.

“Because I think it was not so clear in the last few races and whether we can fix it and get back to the level we had earlier, that’s another question.”

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Without going into detail, Perez suggested his own struggles had come as a result of Red Bull’s issues with the car.

“I think especially with the issues we’ve had, I’ve been struggling in that direction,” Perez said.

“I cannot go too much in detail, but a lot of my struggles have been in that direction. It’s hard to explain in the amount of detail, but it’s not like in the beginning of the year.

“Certainly there have been some things that didn’t go my way that were hurting me more and we were probably not extracting the maximum out of the car in that regard.”

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