After months of speculation, Red Bull driver Sergio Perez has confirmed that he will be departing from his role as driver ahead of the Formula 1 2025 season. But what’s next for the veteran driver?

The Red Bull team boss has hinted at a few potential options for Perez in a Sky Sports interview released after the announcement.

Christian Horner highlights Sergio Perez ‘sabbatical’

The 2024 Formula 1 season started out strong for Red Bull Racing. Max Verstappen once again looked set to dominate his way to another championship, while teammate Sergio Perez secured four impressive podiums in the first five races of the year.

But somewhere along the way, things went wrong. The RB20 became a more challenging car to drive, and Perez seemed unable to come to grips with it. His performance slipped, and suddenly, he was finding it challenging to escape Q1 in qualifying, or to finish in the points.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 in a recent interview, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner defended the team’s decision to sign a new contract with Perez in June.

“At the time we signed it, he’d had four podiums in five races,” Horner explained.

“It was a logical extension just to remove speculation, of which there was already too much around the team.

“Of course, any contract has certain performance clauses and criteria within it, so it didn’t make any difference to this decision of Sergio’s to step away and take a sabbatical.”

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Per Horner, Checo’s waning performance has been surprising for everyone — including the driver himself.

“I think that’s the thing; I think that he’s not really quite sure,” Horner said when asked what happened to Perez.

“Of course the car was — it became more narrow in its performance window, and he struggled with that compared to Max. But obviously such an enormous gulf in points difference between the two drivers… he was struggling with that, and that of course then puts more pressure on him, and the harder you try, sometimes the slower you go.

“It became almost like a vicious circle for him.”

Horner noted that, while Perez looked strong in certain races like the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the flashes of brilliance simply didn’t translate into strong, points-paying finishes.

“It’s been a hugely frustrating campaign for him, and of course, that’s hurt us quite badly in the constructors’ championship,” Horner said.

The ongoing performance concerns raised a lot of questions for both Red Bull and for Perez himself — but Horner made a point of defending Checo where appropriate.

“It’s been a tough year for him,” Horner admitted, “but he’s a great person, and of course, played such a key role in the ’21 drivers’ championship, ’22 and ’23 constructors’.

“He was second in the drivers’ world championship last year. He’s won five Grands Prix in our cars.

“But he reflected after the season, and we sat down and discussed it last week about what are the next steps, and he’s decided that he’s going to take a bit of time out, take a sabbatical from Formula 1, essentially.”

Sabbatical. Horner used the phrase twice during his brief conversation with Sky Sports, suggesting that Perez is merely taking a break from racing.

Further, the Red Bull team boss also confirmed that Checo will “still be involved with the brand and the team. But he’s stepping back from driving duties moving forward.”

The full nature of the departure agreement between Perez and Red Bull remains a bit murky, but one thing is clear: Red Bull Racing will need a new driver for 2025.

Read next: Red Bull issue update on future driver line-up after Perez departure