Autosprint journalist Alessandro Gargantini believess Sergio Perez may have gone to Red Bull Racing to cover the possible departure of Max Verstappen. There is a chance that Lewis Hamilton will leave the sport after 2022 and Verstappen could well take his place.

Does Mercedes want a new line-up?

Both Hamilton and teammate Valtteri Bottas currently have no contract beyond 2021 and Mercedes seem to want the Briton for just one more year. That would mean two seats would become vacant in 2022. George Russell has been angling for Bottas' spot for some time and Verstappen would be the ideal replacement for seven-time world champion Hamilton.

With this, Mercedes is rejuvenating the team, which now appears at the start of the season with two of the oldest drivers. Gargantini sees the combination of Verstappen and Russell as a good possibility and also thinks that Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko wants to be one step ahead of this combination.

Why Perez was preferred

According to Gargantini, this could be the reason Perez has been appointed as the new driver for the Austrian team. Perez has nothing to do with Red Bull's training, but he does bring a wealth of experience with him. Should Red Bull lose Verstappen, the team would have to opt for young drivers from their own training, who have not yet been able to break through in Formula 1.