Sergio Perez Re-Ups With Red Bull As F1 Seats Continue To Get Filled

One of the most coveted seats on the Formula 1 grid for the 2025 season is the one alongside three-time champion Max Verstappen at Red Bull, and now it has been locked up for two more years by the guy who already had it, Sergio Perez.

The team announced that Perez has signed a two-year extension that will see him sticking with Red Bull through the 2025 and 2026 seasons, the latter of which is the first year for a fresh set of regulations.

Sure, this news comes after a giant and very expensive crash in Monaco, but that wasn't his fault, was it?

While Perez's seat at Red Bull seemed to be in danger over the last year, it's not a surprise that Red Bull would want some continuity. I mean, they've won three straight Drivers' Championships and two straight Constructors' Championships, so taking the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach is the right one.

Sergio Perez is sticking with Red Bull for two more seasons at least.(Photo by Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images)

They've obviously determined that of all the options on the market for next season and beyond — like Carlos Sainz or Valtteri Bottas — they aren't going to get the job done like Perez. Also, moving a driver already on the books like Daniel Ricciardo or Yuki Tsunoda (although, I would love to see how Yuki would fare in that seat) wasn't the move, nor was reserve driver Liam Lawson or a Red Bull junior.

Now, this leaves one less seat on the market, and likely makes the opening alongside George Russell at Mercedes the big seat everyone is gunning for. While I think the move is to throw Sainz in there as a stop-gap to highly-touted junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli, it looks more and more like the 17-year-old Italian could end up with the Silver Arrows.

Meanwhile, Williams boss James Vowles played it coy when asked if his team had spoken to Sainz as a possible replacement for Logan Sargent.

Other teams with openings include Alpine (who recently announced that Esteban Ocon will leave the team at the end of the season), Haas (they have two seats, although if one doesn't go to Ollie Bearman I'll eat my hat, and anyone else's hat you want me to eat; I'm that confident), and Sauber/Audi, who needs a driver to pair with Niko Hulkenberg.

Buckle up, kids. Silly season is just heating up!