Red Bull boss Helmut Marko has revealed the brutal reason for rejecting an F1 champion as Max Verstappen’s team-mate.
Speculation about who will partner Max Verstappen in 2025 ran wild when Carlos Sainz became available on the driver market, after being replaced by Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari.
Current Red Bull driver Sergio Perez was set to be out of contract going into 2025, and a renewal looked unlikely after a string of bad performances last season – but he was officially given a two-year extension this week.
Whilst Perez's form has improved this season, he has failed to make the podium since the Chinese Grand Prix, and finished eighth behind both Mercedes in Imola.
Sergio Perez started the season strong sealing one one-two finishes for Red BullIn recent races Sergio Perez has fallen drastically behind team-mate Max Verstappen
Who would replace Perez at Red Bull?
The team have already eliminated one potential driver from their deliberations, with Fernando Alonso signing a multi-year deal with Aston Martin.
When asked if they considered signing the two-time world champion, Red Bull boss Helmut Marko revealed they had, but admitted it would have been ‘difficult’ for him to race alongside Max Verstappen.
“Well, there have been conversations,” Marko said via Formel1.de’s YouTube channel.
“But as I mentioned before, a harmonious work environment is very important to Max and I think that probably would not have been the case with Alonso.
“I think it would be very difficult for a team. Alonso would be the oldest world champion on the team, Max the youngest, and they are generations apart.
Helmut Marko admits it would have been 'difficult' with Alonso at Red Bull
“I don’t think Alonso does sim racing or gets into a simulator on a plane right after a grand prix. So they are two opposite personalities, both very good drivers and also personalities.
"But when it comes to seeing who is faster neither of them are very modest. And it would be very, very difficult for a team to take that in a positive direction.”
GP USA
3 - 5 May
GP ITALY
17 - 19 May
GP MONACO
24 - 26 May
GP CANADA
7 - 9 Jun
GP SPAIN
21 - 23 Jun
GP AUSTRIA
28 - 30 Jun
GP GREAT BRITAIN
5 - 7 Jul
GP HUNGARY
19 - 21 Jul
GP BELGIUM
26 - 28 Jul
GP NETHERLANDS
23 - 25 Aug
GP AZERBAIJAN
13 - 15 Sep
GP SINGAPORE
20 - 22 Sep
GP MEXICO
25 - 27 Oct
GP BRAZIL
1 - 3 Nov
GP QATAR
29 Nov - 1 Dec
GP ABU DHABI
6 - 8 Dec
Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024 
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 
Grand Prix of Australia 2024 
MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024 
Grand Prix of China 2024 
Innovatieweg 20C