Sergio Perez 's fine start to the season has been rewarded with a new Red Bull contract.
The Mexican scored 190 points in his debut season with the team, and has already managed more than half of that total in the first seven races of 2022. His victory at the Monaco Grand Prix brought him to within just 15 points of team-mate and championship leader Max Verstappen.
Red Bull confirmed on Tuesday that he has agreed to a two-year contract extension, securing his place with the team and in the sport until the end of the 2024 season. With Verstappen already tied down to a long-team deal, there will be no space at Red Bull for new faces for at least two more seasons after the current campaign.
"For me, this has been an incredible week," said Perez. "Winning the Monaco Grand Prix is a dream for any driver and then to follow that with announcing I will continue with the team until 2024 just makes me extremely happy.
"I am so proud to be a member of this team and I feel completely at home here now. We are working very well together and my relationship with Max, on and off the track, is definitely helping drive us forward even more. We have built tremendous momentum as a team and this season is showing that, I am excited to see where that can take us all in the future."
Suspicions that the Mexican had signed a new deal with Red Bull were raised when Perez was overheard sharing a joke with Christian Horner as he made his way to the podium in Monaco. "I probably signed to early," he was heard saying to the team principal.
Red Bull confirmed that the deal had been struck before the team arrived to compete in the principality, meaning Perez's victory had no bearing on the team's decision to tie the Mexican down. It will, though, give Horner and the rest of the team hierarchy cause to believe that they have made the right call.
While a new deal is great news for Perez, whose previous contract was due to expire at the end of the year, it shuts the door on a return to the team for Pierre Gasly. The Frenchman had an ill-fated spell with Red Bull which lasted for just a few months, before he was replaced part-way through the 2019 season.
The AlphaTauri ace has been in excellent form since returning to the sister team, and has made clear his desire for a second shot with Red Bull. Now that there is no space for him there for at least two more seasons, Gasly must make a decision as to whether or not to pursue a fresh challenge after the current campaign.
