Red Bull have enjoyed a mixed year in the hands of their two drivers, and are already guaranteed to be retaining one of their two championships.
Sadly, the other will go to either McLaren or Ferrari – neither of which have claimed such significant silverware in the last 16 years.
There are a few reasons for this, but the most glaring of them all has been Sergio Perez’s inability to perform anywhere near the standard required of him.
Without a podium in the last 18 races, he’s now staring down the barrel at what could be his last-ever race in the sport at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Christian Horner is ‘done’ with Sergio Perez ahead of Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
While teammate Max Verstappen has found a way to make the Red Bull work recently, claiming two victories in the last three races – Perez just hasn’t.
Multiple premature qualifying eliminations, and a tally of points which matches Haas’ Kevin Magnussen over the last seven races (a driver who missed a race with a ban in that stretch).
The team have reached the point where they cannot afford to keep him, and RacingNews365’s Ruud Dimmers pointed out that Christian Horner may already be done with the Mexican.
“Red Bull they are done with him in any case, you could even hear that from Christian Horner, he said that Checo had to draw his own conclusions.
“And also, in the Red Bull email that was sent just after the outcome of every Grand Prix – you had Max, you had the quotes from Checo, and then you have [ones] from Horner about how brilliant Max is.
“[Or] How good Sergio Perez has driven from place 18 to place 10. Zero words about it! This cannot continue like this.”
Who is fighting to replace Perez for 2025?
Red Bull have a whole host of options to pick from when it comes to finding a replacement for Perez, but they have to ensure that they pick someone dependable this time.
As they have found out in 2024, Verstappen cannot win the constructors on his own, and it could cost them nearly £15 million in prize money as a result.
Both Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda are the front-runners, bringing a blend of youth and racing experience at this stage in their careers.
READ MORE: Why Liam Lawson already has a big Abu Dhabi Grand Prix advantage over Yuki Tsunoda amid Red Bull F1 battle
But the main problem will be whether they can cope with the demands of racing for a top team alongside someone like Verstappen – which Perez has proven to be quite difficult.
Franco Colapinto is no longer an option, so maybe Valtteri Bottas could be another candidate if they want a proven race-winner, but that would be harsh on their young driver development programme.
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