https://www.planetf1.com/news/red-bull-sergio-perez-2021/ Red Bull are expected to confirm Sergio Perez as Max Verstappen’s team-mate for 2021, perhaps as soon as the “coming week”. That’s according to Formula 1 reporter Ted Kravitz who revealed the news as part of his Ted’s Notebook programme on Sky F1 after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. While Red Bull have never ruled Perez out of contention for a 2021 drive, their preference had always been to stick with Alex Albon for 2021. It seems though that their stance has shifted with Perez set to be brought in to partner Verstappen for 2021, while Albon becomes a test and reserve driver. “We are expecting an announcement maybe in the next coming week that Sergio Perez has joined the team,” said Kravitz. “And Alex Albon will stay on as a test and reserve driver. “It does look like Christian Horner and Helmut Marko have managed to convince Dietrich Mateschitz, who wanted to keep the faith with Alex Albon, to sign Perez. “It seems like there is nothing to lose [signing Perez]. They may as well see how it goes [with him] and if he can’t do the job that they want him to do then they’ve Alex in reserve. That seems to be the elegant solution Red Bull has gone with.”
