Bortoleto suspects Perez will leave Red Bull: 'Then he's done'

"I think Perez will be out next year," Bortoleto said in a video from the Brazilian branch of Motorsport.com. The F2 driver - currently second in the championship - has no insight into how the Mexican's contract is structured, but knows:"With the results he is getting now, he is out."

Perez still extended his commitment at Red Bull at the beginning of June this year. The veteran is now under contract until 2026, but in recent weeks reports have been trickling in that Christian Horner and Helmut Marko did have exit clauses included in the contract, which would allow Perez to be parted early in the event of poor performance.

Liam Lawson

So as it stands, Perez will still be driving for Red Bull in 2025, leaving Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson looking to fight for the second seat at VCARB. There, Yuki Tsunoda is already sure of a spot. Bortoleto believes Red Bull's management is making quite a mistake if Lawson is passed again.

"We know that if it won't be [Daniel] Ricciardo, it will be [Liam] Lawson. If they don't put Lawson in, I don't know what's going on in their heads or they can put Isack Hadjar in," Bortolelo said. A decision on Lawson's future will be made in September.

Future of Bortoleto

Bortoleto himself was linked with a move to Audi this month. He is currently a McLaren junior. Speaking to the aforementioned website, he said. "These kinds of talks always take place, of course, during the summer break. For my part, I can say that I am 100 per cent committed to my F2 season. I have a contract with McLaren, which has given me all the support this year. Finally, as you all know, my career is managed by A14 Management, which looks after my interests in the best possible way."

This article has been written in collaboration with Matt Gretton