Verstappen hails Perez contract renewal as ‘best thing’ for Red Bull and assesses team’s chances in Canada

Max Verstappen believes that Red Bull took the best option “for the whole team” in extending Sergio Perez’s contract, with the Mexican set to race with the squad through to the end of 2026.

Amid continued speculation and moves in the driver market during recent weeks, it was announced ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix that Perez had signed a new two-year deal with the outfit.

READ MORE: Perez explains why he wants to finish his F1 career at Red Bull as he reflects on new contract extension

This will continue his and Verstappen’s tenure as team mates, which began when Perez joined Red Bull in 2021.

Asked for his view on the Mexican’s contract renewal – and whether he had any say in who would race alongside him at the team going forwards – Verstappen responded: “No, I don’t have a say on that, but I’m happy.

“I get on really well with Checo. I think also for the whole team, that was definitely the best thing to do.”

In terms of the on-track action, both Verstappen and Perez will be hoping for a better weekend in Montreal off the back of a challenging one last time out in Monaco, in which the RB20 struggled with the bumps and kerbs of the track.

READ MORE: Verstappen responds to more questions about his F1 future as he insists change of teams ‘not on my mind’

While Perez retired from the running on the opening lap after a dramatic collision with the Haas duo of Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg, Verstappen ended the event in P6.

On whether he is confident that he can bounce back at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, the Dutchman voiced his optimism but also acknowledged that a threat of rain could be a significant factor this weekend.

“I always knew that Monaco was not going to be an easy weekend, plus Monaco can always be quite chaotic,” said Verstappen. “But that’s alright, I think we had a good direction where we wanted to work in, and now step by step we’ll try to improve that.

“We still have a quick car, but some tracks just work a little bit better for us than others, and I think here now it’s not only the track layout, it’s also now dealing with the weather, how wet it’s going to be.

READ MORE; Verstappen reflects on lowly P6 finish in Monaco GP as he takes one ‘positive’ from painful weekend

“We just have to wait and see, but naturally of course the gaps have closed a bit but that’s alright.”