Villeneuve stands up for Perez: 'Stop saying that!'
F1 News
Jacques Villeneuve is known for not shying away from saying what's on his mind about Formula One. The 1997 world champion now stood up for Sergio Perez, saying that the Mexican has a contract signed for next season.
The final seat remaining for the 2025 season is currently at VCARB. However, another seat could be opened up, at Red Bull Racing, as rumours about Sergio Perez's departure often come up. Previously, top advisor Helmut Marko has also thrown in Yuki Tsunoda's and Liam Lawson's name in to the hat for a promotion, and another evaluation awaits the team at the end of the season.
Moreover, Williams driver Franco Colapinto is also rumoured to become Max Verstappen's teammate next season. According to Jacques Villeneuve however, Perez will remain at the team for the 2025 season. "Colapinto deserves a race seat. But there might not be one available. It's very simple. Everybody is saying he will take the Perez seat. But Perez is there and he's under contract. It’s been 10 months now that people have been saying Perez is out at the next race. Stop saying it. He has a contract," he began to Grosvenor Sport.
Villeneuve: 'Verstappen is happy with him'
Villeneuve believes there is no reason to let Perez go, given everything the Mexican brings to the table. "He brings sponsorship, and stability to the team. Verstappen is happy with him. And who knows how much of the difference is because Perez is a bit lost right now, which can happen or just Verstappen being so amazing."
He concluded: "So put another driver in there who doesn't do any better, what have you achieved? They know internally because they have other drivers with the Red Bull junior team. The purpose of the Red Bull Junior team is not to put Colapinto with the big cars, it's to build the drivers for the bigger cars."
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