Red Bull Racing are considering signing Nico Hulkenberg or Sergio Perez to partner Max Verstappen for the 2021 Formula One season, according to Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper.
“For the first time, Red Bull wants to go fishing outside its own stables, where there are currently no drivers ready for the big jump,” the newspaper reports.
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It added that Pierre Gasly, who was demoted from Red Bull in the middle of last season, is “not an option” for the second Red Bull seat.
Instead, he is likely to stay at Scuderia AlphaTauri to help the Italy-based sister team climb up the pecking order over the coming years.
“Dietrich Mateschitz [Red Bull’s co-founder] has ambitious plans for the B team [Scuderia AlphaTauri] and he can’t ignore Gasly,” the newspaper explained.
Continuing, it reports that Perez is believed to be preferred to Hulkenberg, as the highly rated Mexican is likely to come with financial support from Carlos Slim in the form of a sponsorship deal with Red Bull Racing.
Until last month, Perez thought he would be with Astron Martin Racing next year, but the team decided to axe him to make way for four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel.
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