Sergio Pérez endured another difficult weekend at the Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix, finishing without a single point over both the F1 Sprint Race, and the Grand Prix itself.
Now, according to multiple reports, his time with Red Bull is coming to an end.
Per reporting from ESPN, The Race, and Planet F1 Pérez’s time as a driver with Red Bull will end following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final race of the 2024 F1 season. Results in Qatar not only eliminated Red Bull from Constructors’ Championship contention but locked Pérez into a P8 finish in the Drivers’ Championship.
While Pérez signed a new contract with the team ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, reporting indicates that the contract allows for Pérez to be moved into an ambassadorial role. According to ESPN Daniel Ricciardo’s contract contained a similar clause, but the driver decided to sever ties with the team following the Singapore Grand Prix, rather than move into such a role with the organization.
Pérez’s position with Red Bull has always seemed tenuous, at best. While he finished second in the Drivers’ Championship a season ago, he still faced questions over his status with Red Bull heading into 2024, the final year of his previous contract. Red Bull looked to eliminate those tensions with the new contract, but Pérez’s performance simply did not match the team’s expectations. After beginning the year with four podiums in the first five races, Pérez has not finished on the podium since, his last appearance on the podium a P3 in the Chinese Grand Prix, the fifth race of the season.
Since finishing fourth in the Miami Grand Prix at the start of May, his best result was a P6 at the Dutch Grand Prix back in August.
Speaking at the FIA Press Conference ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix Pérez was adamant that he would be returning to the team next season. “I mean, at the end of the day, the team has all the information. There is so much I can say here. At the end of the day, the team has all the information,” said Pérez last Thursday. “And there’s a reason why we extended my contract during the year. At the end of the day, the team has everything, and we exactly know where we are in terms of performance, in terms of issues, difficulties that we’ve had.
“We are a team and we know exactly internally where everything stands, so we’re working really hard as a team to come through and get back into a much better season than the one that we just had.”
Pushed on that issue by Luke Smith of The Athletic, who asked the driver if he could state with 100% confidence that he would be back with Red Bull in 2025, Pérez emphatically declared “[y]eah, exactly.”
But comments after the Qatar Grand Prix from Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner indicated that the situation might be changing.
“I’m going to let Checo [Pérez] come to his own conclusions; nobody’s forcing him one way or another,” Horner said Sunday night when asked about the Mexican driver’s future. “It’s not a nice situation for him to obviously be in.”
“He’s old enough and wise enough to know what the situation is,” added Horner.
According to available reporting, the discussions within Red Bull are now focused on how to navigate Pérez’s exit. According to The Race, “it has been known for several weeks that Red Bull believes the best scenario is Pérez recognises this is the end and retires. That could avoid a very costly pay-off and keep Pérez involved with Red Bull the brand.”
In terms of who might replace Pérez at Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen, Liam Lawson is the consensus selection. Both Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda have been vying for a spot with the senior team, with many inside the paddock convinced that Lawson has the advantage over Tsunoda. That would open up a seat at Visa Cash App RB F1 Team, perhaps opening the door for Isack Hadjar to earn a promotion to F1. Hadjar is currently a reserve driver for Red Bull while competing in F2, where he sits second in the Drivers’ Championship, just a half point behind Gabriel Bortoleto with two races remaining.
Bortoleto is joining the F1 grid on a full-time basis next year with Sauber.
