Sergio Perez renewal, a backstory emerges: Christian Horner behind decision not to sign Carlos Sainz. Christian Horner is behind the renewal of Sergio Pérez (instead of Carlos Sainz).

Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz was one of the potential candidates to replace Sergio Pérez at Red Bull, at least until the latter’s renewal was announced on Tuesday.

Craig Slater, a well-known Sky Sports F1 pundit, thinks something happened in Milton Keynes that pushed the team to prefer the Mexican over the Spaniard. This year, Ferrari’s #55 is certainly performing better than the Red Bull driver.

“[Carlos] held on until the last moment to get a seat,” Craig Slater revealed. “From what I understand, in recent months Red Bull threw the stone and then hid the hand. They seemed interested, then became a bit more distant.” – he pointed out.

The well-known pundit highlighted an interesting backstory: in the negotiations between Carlos Sainz and Red Bull, control passed from Helmut Marko to Christian Horner. For Craig Slater, the situation is clear: there is an internal power struggle within the team, and the team principal emerged as the winner.

Additionally, the F1 expert noted how “Sergio Pérez, among other things, has been firmly on Christian Horner’s side,” referring to the problems and scandal that involved him last February.

“I think it was certainly a choice by Christian Horner. Perhaps if Dr. Marko had the decisive vote here, would there have been someone else next to Max Verstappen? Who knows.”

The future of Carlos Sainz after his Ferrari adventure is still uncertain. Recently, his name has been linked several times to Williams, so much so that many expect an announcement at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Source: f1ingenerale