Red Bull announced that Sergio Perez will be partnering Max Verstappen at the team next year on 18 December – but some members of the F1 community believe that the deal was agreed several days prior, due to the fact that Perez, Christian Horner and Helmut Marko took a picture together while still in Abu Dhabi.
Some F1 fans recognised the curtains in the picture as being from the Emirate’s W Hotel at the Yas Marina Circuit.
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Furthermore, in the picture, Sergio Perez is wearing the same clothes as he wore when he exchanged helmets with Sebastian Vettel on Monday, 14 December.
This prompted speculation that Perez inked his Red Bull deal on that day.
However, Marko has laughed off this “detective work”, insisting that Red Bull signed Sergio Perez shortly before the announcement was made a few days later.
“That is detective work that was done there,” Marko said in an interview with Motorsport-Total.com.
“A photo has nothing to do with signing a contract. It was a sociable get-together. At the time, nothing was 100 percent fixed and we took the photo in case it was fixed. Nowadays, electronic signatures are also possible.
“I am also wearing a thick jacket, so it could have been in the far north.”
When asked when the picture was taken, Marko replied: “To be honest, I don’t remember exactly. It was a turbulent weekend.
“And the opportunities were there because we weren’t allowed to leave the hotel because of the corona regulations,” the Austrian explained.
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