Red Bull may reduce Sergio Perez's $14M salary over 'performance clause' as gap to Max Verstappen grows

Going by renowned F1 photojournalist Kym Illman's latest update, Sergio Perez might receive a pay cut as his points gap to Max Verstappen keeps on growing. According to the report, a clause in the Mexican driver's contract states that he needs to be within 150 points of Verstappen, which the latter failed to manage over the last few races.

Red Bull offered Perez a two-year contract in 2023 for a reported salary of $14 million a year. The contract is set to keep him at Milton-Keynes until 2025. However, according to Illman, the contract has a clause that enables the Christian Horner-led team to impose a pay cut on Perez.

Perez reportedly needs to be within a certain number of points of Verstappen. Otherwise, the Mexican driver could receive a pay cut, something Illman spoke about in his recent YouTube video.

"Let's take a look at Sergio Perez. It's been mentioned that he has a clause in his contract that if he falls 150 points behind his teammate Max Verstappen he would be penalized and probably in the form of a pay cut," Illman said.

"Of course, these are put in place to keep a driver motivated and focused. After all, big dollars are at stake and a team can't afford to have drivers slacking off," he added. (0:46-1:06)

Perez currently has 151 points in his tally after 21 races and five Sprints. Whereas his teammate Max Verstappen has 393 points. This means that the 34-year-old is currently 242 points behind his world-champion teammate.

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Helmut Marko cast a shadow over Sergio Perez's future at Red Bull

Sergio Perez of Mexico drives the (11) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 Honda RBPT - Source: Getty

Helmut Marko's recent comments on Sergio Perez cast a shadow over the Mexican driver's future at Red Bull. The 34-year-old has been lagging behind in terms of performance this season, something Marko and company wanted to avoid, keeping the constructors' championship in mind.

Marko, the Red Bull advisor, stated that even though Perez has a contract in place for next season, his underwhelming performances in 2024 do not guarantee him a place at Milton Keynes in 2025.

"Perez may have a contract, but Formula 1 is a meritocracy. If the performance is not right, even contracts are useless," Marko told F1-Insider in October. "At the end of the season, we will sit down together and decide who is the best team-mate for Verstappen at Red Bull.”

Red Bull is currently placed in P3 in the constructors' championship behind McLaren and Ferrari, with three races and a Sprint to go. Thanks to Verstappen, the Austrian team is still within touching distance of P1 and P2. However, Perez will need to step up if Red Bull is to retain its title.