What Sergio Perez ‘subliminally’ said about Red Bull in Qatar amid ‘very bad situation’

Sergio Perez may have just one race to save his Formula 1 career after another dismal performance with Red Bull at the Qatar Grand Prix.

The Mexican may be contracted to the team until at least 2026, but Red Bull are said to be seriously considering replacing the 34-year-old before 2025 after having a torrid 2024 campaign.

Perez is enduring his worst season with Red Bull since he joined the team in 2021, He currently sits eighth in the drivers’ championship, having not finishing inside the top five since the Chinese Grand Prix.

The Mexican is on a terrible run of form coming into the season finale in Abu Dhabi, having finished higher than 10th once in the last seven races.

At the Qatar Grand Prix, Perez qualified in the top 10 for only the second time in the last eight events. But despite this, the 34-year-old retired from the race after spinning by himself behind the safety car.

Jolyon Palmer was left really confused by Perez’s retirement, with the incident summing up a bizarre weekend for the Red Bull driver. In the Sprint race on Saturday, he finished last after being overtaken by Franco Colapinto in the pit lane.

Sergio Perez ‘subliminally’ told Red Bull they had set the car up wrong in Qatar

Red Bull have not had the best package on the grid for much of the 2024 season, after McLaren and Ferrari made huge steps forward in their development.

While Perez had been struggling long before this, even his teammate Max Verstappen struggled with the RB20 as he went 10 races without a win from Barcelona to Sao Paulo – although the Dutchman still went on to secure his fourth world title.

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Perez has been vocal about his issues with the Red Bull and how the car does not suit his driving style. After his retirement in Qatar, Michael Schmidt picked up that the Mexican may have ‘subliminally’ told the team they had got the set up wrong as he finds himself in a ‘very bad situation’ heading into Abu Dhabi.

“Subliminally it also throws [it] to the team that they might be setting [up] the car wrong, not understanding it and not adapting it to their needs and the wheel positions,” Schmidt said via ams F1.

“Of course, there’s probably a bit of pride involved in that. So Perez, he’s in a very bad situation and as I said, there will certainly be a decision-making war.”

Who will replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull in 2025?

It is looking increasingly likely that the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will be Perez’s final outing for Red Bull, with the Mexican running out of time to save his seat.

Perez must produce a ‘stunning’ result at Abu Dhabi to keep himself at Red Bull next season. Liam Lawson has been linked with replacing Perez in 2025 after impressing this season at RB.

Yuki Tsunoda has also been mentioned in the running for the second Red Bull seat. However, Red Bull may be worried about Tsunoda’s consistency as the Japanese driver does not look like he is being considered for the seat.

Red Bull are no longer interested in Franco Colapinto either, after his recent crashes are said to have been too much for the team to consider him. Instead, Isack Hadjar is likely to join RB after impressing the Milton Keynes-based squad’s hierarchy in Qatar in F2.