Sergio Perez: The massive pay rise and new terms behind new Red Bull contract
Sergio Perez has received a pay rise in his new Red Bull contract that takes him to within touching distance of both Ferrari drivers’ salaries.
Perez is now paid €7m with a bonus €3m (a total of £8.6m), according to Sportune.fr.
Perez was previously paid €5m, with a bonus of €3m (a total of £6.8m), the report says.
His new salary takes him behind only the reported pay of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz (£9.8m each), Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel (£12.2m each), Fernando Alonso (£14.9m), Lando Norris (£20m), Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton (£40m each).
After winning the F1 Monaco Grand Prix he was overheard joking to team principal Christian Horner that he had signed his new deal too quickly.
The sponsorship from his home country of Mexico was a key part of Perez’s contract negotiations.
He reportedly brings €20m (£17m) into the Red Bull coffers.
Perez’s new deal is also a guaranteed two-year extension rather than one year plus the option of another year, the report says.
Is Sergio Perez an F1 title contender?
Horner said about Perez: “Time and again he has proved himself to not only be a magnificent team player but as his level of comfort has grown he has become a real force to be reckoned with at the sharp end of the grid.”
Perez is 15 points behind teammate Verstappen in the championship standings ahead of the F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Just a week earlier he was instructed via team radio to allow Verstappen to pass him, and he reacted with clear frustration.
