Sky F1’s Ted Kravitz claims Sergio Perez has unofficially “left the team” at Red Bull, with his future, in Kravitz’s view, “a matter of engineering” an announcement.

Reports have been mounting over the Mexican’s future at the team, with PlanetF1.com understanding negotiations are still ongoing with Liam Lawson currently favourite to take the seat if Perez is not retained.

Sergio Perez has unofficially ‘left the team’ at Red Bull, Kravitz claims

Perez has struggled for form for much of the season alongside Max Verstappen, scoring just over a third of the four-time World Champion’s points tally as Red Bull lost their Constructors’ crown come season’s end.

The team said talks would take place after the season concluded to decide on next steps, with both Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda’s form set to be considered alongside that of Perez, who is contracted to be in the Red Bull seat next season.

Kravitz, Sky’s long-serving pit lane reporter, believes Red Bull took the decision to part ways with Perez at the Qatar Grand Prix – the penultimate race of the season, with one key indicator on show at team principal Christian Horner’s post-race press conference.

“For me, the clearest point was after the race in Qatar, when Christian Horner brought the Constructors’ Championship standings on a piece of paper into his post-race press briefing with the media,” Kravitz explained on the Sky F1 podcast.

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“Now, you always know what’s in Christian Horner’s head with what piece of paper he brings to his press briefing on a Sunday evening after the race.

“After Mexico, he brought in the telemetry of Lando [Norris] and Max [Verstappen] and what corner and why he felt that the two 10-second penalties for Max were a bit a bit harsh. And then, completely unprompted, I think, he brings in the Constructors’ standings, which, of course, have all the points that Sergio Perez didn’t manage to score for the team.

“Really, they should have [won], when you look at how many points Max scored, this [Constructors’ trophy] should be really on Red Bull, and the reason it’s not is Sergio Perez’s form.

“Now, that’s why Horner brought the Constructors’ Championship standings into Qatar, and then the decision came, I think, around Qatar, and ever since then, it’s been about how we manage to dissolve the contract and pay him off.

“But as we record, he hasn’t, but he has. He has left the team, and it’s a matter of engineering it.”

Perez had remained adamant in Abu Dhabi that he will remain a Red Bull driver next season, due to his contract extension handed to him earlier this year.

Kravitz explained this gives him “every justification” to feel like he should remain on the grid, and highlighted other examples in which the team used him to benefit his team-mate this season, despite it being pointed out by podcast co-host Karun Chandhok that after the first quarter of the season, Perez brought home 49 points in 18 race weekends.

“The team did favour Max, and Checo was a great team player,” Kravitz elaborated, “he was pulled out of the parc fermé for the Qatar sprint to test the new suspension settings with which Max won the next day. All right, it was only a sprint race, but he still sacrificed his qualifying.

“But he’s been a great servant and a good team member – and he was given a two-year contract. So he has every justification.”

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