Red Bull boss Christian Horner suggests that Sergio Perez is on the verge of making his own decision on his future.

Just as you thought it couldn't get any worse for the Mexican he manages to outdo himself, in terms of being overtaken at the start of Saturday's Sprint by Franco Colapinto... while in the pitlane!

No further action was taken in terms of the allegation of "dangerous driving" on Sunday - having appeared to drive directly across the track at right angles to the oncoming traffic after spinning - but nonetheless it was another weekend to forget for the Mexican.

The final Sprint weekend of the year saw him fail to score a single point, finishing last on Saturday and retiring from yesterday's race whilst running fifth.

Week after week Horner is asked the same questions about the Mexican's future, but this time he appeared to be hinting that rather than Red Bull making the decision, Perez himself will make the call.

"I'm going to let Checo come to his own conclusions, nobody's forcing him one way or another," said the Briton. "It's not a nice situation for him to obviously be in," he added.

After agreeing a new two-year deal in June, the Mexican's form immediately took a dip and it was widely thought he would be dropped over the summer break.

While he was retained his form went from bad to worse, and as a result Red Bull had slipped to third in the team standings despite teammate Max Verstappen winning hisd fourth successive title.

"Look, Checo has had a very tough year," said Horner. "Obviously the points table are what they are. We're very much focused on really supporting him to the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi, and then obviously it's not an enjoyable situation for Checo, being in this position with speculation every week.

"He's old enough and wise enough to know what the situation is, and yeah, let's see where we are after Abu Dhabi."

Asked if the team would force the Mexican's hand - having only a week ago insisted that he would be driving for Red Bull Racing in 2025 - Horner said: "Let's get to the end of Abu Dhabi and see where we're at."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Celtic Tiger, 03/12/2024 6:55

"Something is definitely up, Jos was quite vocal on Lawson replacing Perez and then suddenly, quite recent, he appears to do a 180 in his view and has come out in support of Checo. Jos, of all people, backing down? Then there's Marko who I recently haven't heard a peep from too. Between Slim and his politician dad some words must have been said to the bosses at the top for everyone in the Red Bull camp that was critical of Perez to suddenly backtrack or shoe gaze when asked why is the guy who cost you the constructors championship still on the team. I don't have it out for Perez but this is just weird if you look at Red Bull's twenty-year policy on driver performance. "

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2. Posted by Paulinho, 02/12/2024 14:56

"Christian Horner - now there's a name from the past."

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3. Posted by Chester, 02/12/2024 14:37

"This Carlos Slim "thing" reminds me of Maldonado and PVDS (spelling). IMO, Perez sell-by date has come and gone.

It would be sad to see a young driver deprived of a seat by Carlos Slim's cash."

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4. Posted by JamesD, 02/12/2024 13:49

"@Schrodinger's cat - Perez brings a lot of money in via sponsors Telmex; owned by billionaire Carlos Slim.

Rumours are that Red Bull are about to take on sponsors AT&T, which would be in direct conflict / competition with Telmex. Slim has apparently said that if Perez leaves, the sponsorship would follow him to wherever he goes."

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5. Posted by Schrodinger's cat, 02/12/2024 12:30

"I cannot understand how Perez could be driving in Abu Dhabi, let alone in 2025 for Red Bull.

He has cost them winning the Constructor's Championship and tens of millions of dollars in prize money. Is he a pay driver bringing around 50 million dollars of sponsorship to Red Bull?"

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Horner hints at Perez departure

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