Powerful commercial interests look set to cement Sergio Perez in place at Red Bull Racing for 2025.
Despite his 2025 contract, the Mexican’s future has been under a dark cloud all season as he struggled with the current car - resulting in Red Bull lagging both McLaren and Ferrari in the lucrative constructors’ championship.
However, he insisted last time out at Interlagos: "You will see me in Vegas and you will see me next year."
Already this week, it is rumoured that one of Perez’s sponsors, which also backs the team, has organised a TV series that will focus on the 34-year-old’s 2025 F1 campaign.
"That’s one of the reasons why they are still persisting with him," said Dutch racing driver Renger van der Zande on Ziggo Sport.
And now, according to the Spanish sports newspaper Marca, multiple "new sponsors for 2025" have now signed up with Red Bull.
In response, team boss Christian Horner is said to have just given the green light to start production of 2025-spec team clothing and merchandise featuring the new sponsors’ names.
"The name of the new sponsor is not yet known, but it would join Claro, Telcel and Infinitum, all of which are part of Carlos Slim’s group, as well as Interproteccion, a global brokerage firm that has been with the driver for years," said correspondent Marco Canseco.
Other Perez-linked sponsors are Banorte, ESPN, Jalisco and Uber.
"These are driver sponsorships, tied solely and exclusively to him remaining in his cockpit, as otherwise they would abandon their investment and go to Checo’s new destination," Canseco added.
And, fascinatingly, another Perez sponsor - the Nestle chocolate bar KitKat - has also just become a global sponsor of Formula 1.
As for the Perez-specific Red Bull sponsors, they reportedly cover Perez’s approximately $10 million annual salary and still leave $30m extra for the team.
At the recent Mexican GP, Horner had to admit Perez’s commercial appeal.
"Look, Checo’s our driver. He’s contracted for 2025," he said.
"Obviously huge support for him here. I think he’s endorsing every product from Uber Eats to toilet roll this weekend, so it’s impressive how many endorsements he’s managed to line up for himself."
However, at the Brazilian GP, Horner insisted Red Bull is still keeping its options open for 2025. "Liam Lawson did a super job in Brazil, and Yuki (Tsunoda)," he said.
"Liam, particularly, considering his experience. Franco (Colapinto) is another talent. So, of course, you’re always keeping an eye on the market of how things are developing."