’Shareholders’ will decide Sergio Perez’s fate - Marko

It is Red Bull’s "shareholders" who will decide Sergio Perez’s fate after Abu Dhabi, Dr Helmut Marko has revealed.

While the team advisor was delighted with Max Verstappen’s fourth drivers’ world championship late on Saturday night, Marko admitted many team members are actually disappointed.

That’s because while Verstappen’s drivers’ title lead is now insurmountable with two full race weekends to spare, it is McLaren and Ferrari who are battling for first and second in the constructors’ championship.

Marko, 81, clearly blames Perez.

"There must be two drivers on the team who are capable of scoring points," he declared to ORF. "I don’t know the exact difference, but I think Checo is more than 200 points behind Max. This is unacceptable.

"If he was somewhere near (Lewis) Hamilton or (George) Russell, or the Ferraris or the McLarens, then we would have the advantage," Marko added.

"The main thing here was to win the world championship with Max, but for our employees it is a disappointment because their bonuses at the end of the season depend on our position in the constructors’ championship. And this year we have no chance of winning it."

Perez scored a single point in Las Vegas, having qualified a poor P16. "That wasn’t the right position on a day when McLaren was weak," admitted team boss Christian Horner.

"Everything related to the contracts, I have nothing to say. If there was anything to say, I’d tell you."

The leading contender to potentially replace Mexican Perez for 2025 is Liam Lawson, although Franco Colapinto has also been mentioned. As for Yuki Tsunoda, he said after the chequered flag on Saturday: "I am ready to race and fight with Max who is a monster.

"It is not my decision, but I am convinced that I can fight him," the Japanese told Sky Italia.

Marko says the decision will be made by Red Bull’s shareholders, who are Chalerm Yoovidhya (51 percent) and Mark Mateschitz (49pc).

"The plan is that there will be a meeting after Abu Dhabi, and we will report the results of this meeting to our shareholders, who will then decide what the driver lineup of the two teams will look like next year," Marko told ORF.