Formula 1 News: Horner gives Perez chance to bow out gracefully

(GMM) Red Bull officials have reiterated that Franco Colapinto is unlikely to join either of the energy drink company’s two Formula 1 teams in 2025. Sergio Perez’s miserable run of form, amid ever-mounting pressure, continued in Qatar on Sunday, as he spun out of the race.

Team boss Christian Horner hinted that the Mexican driver might be weighing up his own future on the grid. “He is not enjoying the situation he is in at the moment,” said the Red Bull Racing chief.

“Whatever he decides to do, it will be his decision. I think he is big enough and wise enough to come to his own conclusions.”

Horner also raised eyebrows in the paddock late on Sunday by telling the Spanish-language broadcaster DAZN: “There’s one race left, let’s hope he does it in a positive way.

“Nobody wants to see him retire like this.”

There is no doubt Red Bull has been in talks with the Williams-contracted rookie Colapinto for 2025, but team advisor Dr Helmut Marko played down the prospect of a deal.

“We have always brought our drivers through the Red Bull program, and so the question is – do we continue with that? And what the shareholders have told me is that it will be in this direction,” he said.

Similarly, RB boss Laurent Mekies played down even the prospect of a race seat for Colapinto at the second Red Bull team next year. “The decision to keep the (Yuki) Tsunoda-(Liam) Lawson pairing is probably the most logical one for us.

“Ultimately, the decision will be taken after Abu Dhabi. But there will be no negotiations from our side with other drivers. What we have is working perfectly.”

If Lawson or Tsunoda replace Perez in 2025, the next in line for an RB race seat is Isack Hadjar, who told Canal Plus in Qatar that he is “ready” for his grand prix debut.