Red Bull and Charles Leclerc ‘talks’ come to light as Perez fights for F1 future

Red Bull have reportedly held talks with Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris with Sergio Perez’s F1 career under threat. According to formul1a.uno, Red Bull management have “approached two top drivers” with Leclerc’s and Norris’ names in the discussions.

Talks were reportedly held with the Monegasque at the end of May with bosses probing whether he would be tempted to leave Ferrari. The discussions are believed to have ramped up talks between Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur and Leclerc in a bid to block any moves.

Red Bull boss Oliver Mintzlaff is understood to be after a dream team line-up in 2025 or 2026. This would see two top drivers at the sharp end of the grid to help continue the team’s domination of the sport. 

A third star name such as Sergio Perez or Daniel Ricciardo could also be retained to make one of the strongest driver pairings in motorsport. Liberty Media are also hoping to encourage F1’s top teams to have two competitive drivers to spice up the show. 

F1’s owners are aware it is difficult to re-create epic title duels like 2021 by changing the technical regulations and is looking for constructors to build intra-tream rivalries. The news comes just hours after Ricciardo was confirmed as an AlphaTauri driver for the rest of the season. 

Ricciardo’s driver and rumours of a Leclerc deal will put added pressure on Perez who has struggled for form in recent races. The Mexican has failed to make Q3 in five successive qualifying sessions and has been knocked out of Q1 on the occasions. 

The former Force India driver now lies almost 100 points behind Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship with his runners-up spot still under threat from Fernando Alonso.

Earlier this season, Leclerc was also linked with a move to Mercedes a a possible replacement for Lewis Hamilton. It emerged after Italian media suggested talks between Leclerc and the Silver Arrows were an “open secret” in the paddock. 

However, Leclerc denied he had held talks with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff as he continued to pledge his allegiance to Ferrari. When pushed on the rumours, Leclerc said: “No. Zero. Zero. Really zero. You all smile because you don’t believe me, but I promise.”