The moment Sergio Perez was ‘kicked out’ of Red Bull as a junior driver ahead of potential F1 exit

Sergio Perez is on the verge of losing his seat with Red Bull ahead of the 2025 season after four years with the team.

The Mexican joined the team in 2021 after an impressive seven years with Force India – later Racing Point. But Perez only achieved five wins with Red Bull as he struggled to match his teammate Max Verstappen – much like his previous teammates Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon.

Perez had been struggling with his machinery almost immediately and was regularly knocked out of qualifying before Q3 in 2023, but the 2024 season was the height of his woes.

The 34-year-old endured his worst season with Red Bull this year as he finished fourth in the standings with just four podiums, having not finished in the top five since the Miami Grand Prix. While the RB20 proved a difficult car to drive from the halfway point of the season, teammate Verstappen grabbed nine wins and his fourth consecutive title.

His dreadful form led to increased pressure from the Milton Keynes-based outfit to keep his seat, with Perez now set to leave Red Bull before the 2025 season, with Liam Lawson set to replace him.

Ralf Schumacher says Perez could have lost his seat in 2023, but the team opted to keep faith in him. Though his 2025 exit is expected to be announced soon, this would not mark the first time Perez has been let go by Red Bull.

Sergio Perez was ‘kicked out’ of Red Bull after failing to impress in a test during his junior career

Speaking on the Beyond The Grid Podcast after signing with Red Bull in 2021, Perez revealed that he had previously tested with the team during his junior career.

The Mexican was in F3 at the time and had been invited to complete a test session with the team, but found himself way behind on pace due to an issue with his seat. Instead of being given the chance to solve the issue, he was ‘kicked out’ – an early warning sign for Perez that he would have been completely unaware of at the time.

Asked whether there had been any previous conversations with the Red Bull hierarchy, such as Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, Perez said: “Yeah, we did in 2007. I was invited through my programme to go and test there. It didn’t go well!

“Because when I tested it was about testing there and I didn’t do well. [I was in an] F3 [car], but I had an issue with the seat because my knees were hitting the wheel so I couldn’t turn, so I was quite far off the pace.

“And I thought that I was going to be able to sort out the seat and so on. And when I went back I was just kicked out, I didn’t have an extra chance. I was just being kicked out, I was too slow and I was like: ‘Wow’.

What’s next for Sergio Perez in F1?

With Perez’s Red Bull departure imminent, the Mexican will be out of F1 for the 2025 season as the grid will be locked in.

With Lawson set to be promoted from RB to Red Bull, Isack Hadjar is likely to replace him at the Faenza squad and partner Yuki Tsunoda.

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Perez could make a return in 2026 with newcomers Cadillac allowing for two more seats on the grid, but it could also be likely his Red Bull sacking spells the end of his F1 career.

Perez could take on an ambassador role at Red Bull if he is taken out of the cockpit, which is the same role that Daniel Ricciardo was offered after he was sacked earlier in the year but rejected.