Montoya hints at crucial reason behind Perez Red Bull reprieve

Juan Pablo Montoya has hinted that the commercial benefits brought to Red Bull by Sergio Perez as a reason for his F1 reprieve.

The Mexican was under pressure going into the summer break after a poor run of form, but was given a second chance at the last minute, but has continued to deliver bad performances, although he was set to take a podium in Azerbaijan before a late crash with Carlos Sainz. 

He is 187 points behind team-mate Max Verstappen in the F1 drivers' standings, and is the only driver from the top four teams yet to pick up a grand prix win this season. 

With Red Bull's constructors' championship under threat, speculation around Perez's future has grown once again, but six-time grand prix winner Montoya believes the "millions of dollars" in commercial benefits outweigh the negatives in Red Bull's thinking.

“When Perez was signed to a two-year deal, Christian Horner supposedly said it was actually a year plus an option for another year," he told Gambling Zone. 

"If they signed that deal, I would assume, unless something major happens, that he would stay one more year, but the rumours going around [in Singapore] was that Red Bull was thinking about announcing that Perez was going to retire at the end of next year.

“But Perez for Red Bull is huge in terms of value for money, for Red Bull itself, selling Red Bull in Latin America, in Mexico and in the US. 

"Look at the numbers. Ask around and you'll see the numbers. It’s tens of millions of dollars that he has brought to Red Bull. So that is a huge consideration.

“Supposedly before Red Bull went for Perez they had a factory in Mexico which they were even thinking about closing. 

“Now with Sergio, I think they’ve had to open a second one. Having him transformed what Red Bull was in Mexico, Central America and Latin America.

"It's a big number, so it's not as simple as who is the better driver."