Sergio Perez is on the verge of leaving Red Bull after a dismal 2024 campaign.
The Mexican suffered his worst season with the Milton Keynes-based outfit as he finished eighth in the standings; a staggering 285 points behind his teammate Max Verstappen who claimed his fourth consecutive world championship.
| Position | Drivers’ Championship | Points |
| 1 |
Max Verstappen |
437 |
| 2 |
Lando Norris |
374 |
| 3 |
Charles Leclerc |
356 |
| 4 |
Oscar Piastri |
292 |
| 5 |
Carlos Sainz Jr |
290 |
| 6 |
George Russell |
245 |
| 7 |
Lewis Hamilton |
223 |
| 8 |
Sergio Perez |
152 |
| 9 |
Fernando Alonso |
70 |
| 10 |
Pierre Gasly |
42 |
While the Dutchman grabbed nine wins across the season, Perez scored just four podiums – failing to grab another after finishing third in Shanghai. In fact, he did not finish in the top five again after Miami as he desperately struggled to perform.
His woeful form was a huge factor in Red Bull losing the Constructors’ Championship as they finished third behind McLaren and Ferrari – 77 points adrift from the title. Juan Pablo Montoya says Perez cost Red Bull £23m in 2024, presumably in damages from the many crashes he had and losing the constructors’ title.
After the season finale in Abu Dhabi, it has been made very clear that Perez is set to leave Red Bull ahead of 2025, with Liam Lawson looking set to be promoted to from RB to replace the Mexican.
Christian Horner and Helmut Marko will be ‘banging their heads’ over giving Sergio Perez a contract extension
In the wake of the rumours surrounding the 34-year-old’s pending departure, Perez was included in the 2025 entry list because he has a contract with Red Bull until the end of next year.
Red Bull offered Perez fresh terms in June in the hope that it would improve his poor form. If anything, the Mexican got worse after that point, and speaking on the RacingNews365 Podcast, journalist Ian Parkes says Christian Horner and Helmut Marko will be deeply regretting handing out that contract as they look likely to replace him just six months later.
“49 points over the last 18 Grand Prix with that car, that Max Verstappen won the drivers’ title in. It’s just unbelievable how bad he has been.
“But for that contract that he signed in early June, really Red Bull, Christian Horner, Helmut Marko must now be banging their heads against the wall thinking: ‘Why on earth did we do that?’
“They did it for one obvious reason; to try and give Checo a bit of stability, to allow him to settle into the team again, and it’s just completely backfired on them.
“Because this is a drivers decision that would have been made a hell of a long time ago, there’s no way without that contract for next year that he would have that seat right now.”
What will the two Red Bull teams look like in 2025 after Sergio Perez’s exit?
RB drivers Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda have been in contention to replace Perez since Red Bull made it known they were looking at options for 2025 to partner Verstappen.
With the former set to get the promotion, the latter will embark on his fifth season with RB as Tsunoda is contracted for 2025.
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The Japanese driver is set to be joined by Isack Hadjar for 2025 after the Frenchman finished second in the Formula 2 championship to Gabriel Bortoleto.
As for Perez, his F1 career will likely be coming to an end if he is sacked by Red Bull, but the 34-year-old could remain with the team in some capacity.
Perez could take on an ambassador role at Red Bull, which is the same role Daniel Ricciardo rejected after he was axed by the Milton Keynes-based outfit earlier in the year.
