Nearly three years ago, Sergio Perez’s teammate Max Verstappen expressed his disapproval of Sergio Perez’s skills in Formula 1 in one sentence over the cackle of static on the radio. And the ultimate tribute to his value as a Red Bull driver. “Oh, Checo is a legend,” Verstappen said after his Mexican teammate kept Lewis Hamilton at bay from laps 15 to 21 until the Dutchman caught up and passed Hamilton on the final lap. said.
Verstappen and Hamilton were battling for more than just a race win on the day at the season-ending 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The two were still in contention for the 2021 title, which Verstappen ultimately won thanks to an assist from Perez. Perez, hailed as the ultimate teammate in a sport where most drivers have personal interests at heart, will not have a seat for the 2025 Formula 1 season after three seasons.
Perez parted ways with the team on Wednesday after extensive discussions with the team. This development was seen by many despite him signing a new two-year contract with six-time constructors’ champions Red Bull earlier this year.
2024 was Perez’s worst season at Red Bull and, oddly enough, 2023 was the best season of his career. The Mexican finds himself out in the cold in the sport.
Perez scored nine podiums in 2023, including two wins in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan, and finished second in the drivers’ championship behind teammate and world champion Max Verstappen. But after becoming the team’s main force for three consecutive years since 2021 and playing an important role in Red Bull’s two constructors’ championships, Perez’s results in 2024 fell well below his standards. Two options: Continue until the end of the contract, while still serving as an ambassador for the team, or walk away. He chose the latter.
Why did Perez leave Red Bull?
Perez’s strong start to the 2024 season has strengthened Red Bull’s determination to extend the contract. His car finished second in the season openers in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, second in Japan four weeks later and third in China. But it will be his last podium finish of the season. He performed well in his next race in Miami, finishing fourth. However, it was his last top-five finish of the season. Over the next 18 games of the season, he totaled just 49 points, including five DNFs.
To put that into perspective, his teammate Max Verstappen scored 265 points in the same number of races after Miami. Perez’s performance was one of the biggest reasons why Red Bull missed out on the constructors’ title this year, finishing third behind Ferrari.
Tensions in the Red Bull paddock seem to rise every time Perez takes the car on track, whether it’s qualifying or race day. After a while, even four-time world champion Verstappen started complaining about the car and how he struggled to put in decent laps on the track, but he seemed less sensitive to these issues than Perez.
When other front-runners such as McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes started to put up good results, Red Bull had to pin all its hopes on Verstappen to maintain a good finish of at least third place, and he also Excellent performance indeed. This further adds to the doubts and brings to light issues that everyone has been trying to ignore for a long time.
Perez’s F1 future
Perez won six races in his career, five with Red Bull Racing, and finished on the podium 29 times in total. The once underrated Perez has been hungry for victory since his debut for Sauber in 2011 and finally won for Racing Point (now Aston Martin) in 2020 after being dropped to last place in Bahrain. won and will now lose their spot in the next game. His numbers suggest he’s not a great driver, but those who have seen him race will talk about how well he blends in with his car on the track. While Cadillac’s participation as F1’s 11th team gives him a bright future, for now he will follow the sport as a fan.
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