Sergio Perez is in possession of ‘the seat that everybody wants’ in F1, according to Billy Monger.
The Mexican currently sits second in the standings after a solid opening to the 2023 campaign that has seen him win one race, finish second in another, and recover to P5 after starting from the pit-lane in the third.
His team-mate, Max Verstappen, has had an even better start, however, with two wins and a second place from the opening three races and it is plain for all to see as to just how hard Perez is going to have to work if he is to win the world championship this season.
One thing in his favour, though, is that he has a car underneath him that is clearly the pick of the 2023 bunch in the shape of the RB19 and, right now at least, it looks like this season’s title fight could be a straight battle between the two Red Bull drivers.
That said, with Perez’s contract running out at the end of next season, whilst Verstappen’s goes to the end of 2028, it is quite reasonable to suggest that a number of drivers will potentially be looking at whether they could come into the Red Bull fold in the near future, especially if they remain in possession of the top car on the grid.
Indeed, speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Billy Monger, who has recently launched new F1 podcast Lift The Lid alongside Johnny Herbert, said that the F1 driver market could all depend on what happens with Perez in the next couple of years, with a number of drivers likely eyeing his seat:
“The question is, is Checo going to be sticking around and being Max’s team-mate? Because Max isn’t going to go anywhere for a while at the minute. So that’s really going to be the hot property, the seat that everyone’s after.”
Of course, Red Bull seem quite happy with their driver line-up at the moment as well, and so may want to keep Perez past the end of the 2024 campaign.
They are very much the team to beat as it stands, and so you could understand why any number of drivers would want in.
Billy Monger and Johnny Herbert have recently launched the Lift The Lid podcast to give the inside track on being a racing driver. Subscribe to the Lift The Lid podcast here via your favourite podcast platform.
