Red Bull seat in demand: 'Drivers offered to race for free'

Is Red Bull the place to be for a driver (if your name is not MaxVerstappen), or would you be wise to stay far away from that seatbecause of the risk of being beaten? In the last three years, noneof Max Verstappen's Red Bull teammates managed to even come closeto and stay with the Dutchman on a consistent basis. Pierre Gaslyand Alex Albon were forced to leave after 12 months or less andalthough Sergio Perez has lasted significantly longer, he hasstruggled to match Verstappen like Nico Rosberg did with LewisHamilton at Mercedes. Horner: Checo is our driver Red Bull TeamPrincipal Christian Horner has admitted that some F1 drivers on thegrid are desperate to replace Sergio Perez, that they would bewilling to drive for free. After Ayrton Senna once famously offeredto drive for Williams for free amid their dominance in the mid-90s,Horner likened this when asked about the state of Perez and hisdrive. "There's been a little bit of that, but there's noguarantees of anything," Horner told Sky Sports . "Checo is ourdriver. If he does well, we'll want to keep him for 2025, but it'sall about how he performs in relation to his team-mate. "I think hehas shown real mental strength to be able to cope with that. Thearea he needs to focus on is Saturday - making sure that hisaverage qualifying is a lot closer to Max. "We need him startingfurther up the grid, particularly if the grid is going to converge.We can't afford to have a lot of cars between him and Max." "2024is a big year. A lot of drivers' contracts are coming to a close.We've got great talent in our own stable. Of course the car is veryattractive for other drivers to want to be in." The first choice,if Horner is to be believed, is and remains Sergio Perez. He stillhas 12 months left on his current contract, but performing wellcompared to his teammate is no easy task. Horner stresses that theMexican is aware of this pressure: "There's been a little bit ofthat, but there's no guarantees of anything. Checo is our driver.If he does well, we'll want to keep him for 2025, but it's allabout how he performs in relation to his team-mate."