Red Bull driver Sergio Perez appears to be on his way out of Red Bull Racing going into the final race of the 2024 Formula 1 season.
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix offers Sergio Perez one last chance to prove his worth to Red Bull.
Perez may already have lost his Red Bull seat, but until an official decision is made, the 34-year-old will hope he can change Christian Horner and Helmut Marko’s mind.
It’s been an unfortunate case of watching Perez’s decline and loss of confidence play out over the last 18 months.
Even when he finished second in the Constructors’ Championship last year, he went on a poor run of form in qualifying and was bailed out by how superior the RB19 was.
Unfortunately, this season the grid has converged and even though Red Bull apologised to Perez for not listening to his concerns sooner, it looks like the team are ready to make a change.
David Coulthard was speaking to Eddie Jordan on the Formula For Success Podcast about the Mexican’s likely exit.
He’s explained how he wants Perez to negotiate his departure from the team and what he needs to avoid during negotiations.
David Coulthard would lose ‘respect’ for Sergio Perez if he enters Red Bull contract standoff
Coulthard was reflecting on what could be the end of Perez’s Red Bull career and said: “Well, if it’s a Mexican standoff, Checo Perez might come in and play a role, because, again, didn’t get to the finish, didn’t get points.
“We’ve said this many times, this isn’t show friends, Checo was a very good human being, but it’s painful to watch the resistance to the facts.
“And I can only assume it’s a management play. Julian Jacobi’s his manager, Julian, [whom] we know and respect for many, many years, intelligent, good manager, but his job is to make sure the money’s there.
READ MORE: Red Bull driver Sergio Perez’s life outside F1 from net worth to nickname
“So I can only imagine it’s about trying to negotiate the biggest payoff possible to get him to go of his own accord, rather than to basically just say, okay, we’re paying you whatever we’d agreed to pay you for next year, but we’re not giving you a race car, and go sue us, which could happen.
“But it would be such a shame if that was the standoff between Checo’s management and Red Bull Racing.
“If it came to that, I would lose a little bit of respect for Julian and Checo, because at the end of the day, the data doesn’t lie, if there’s a contract, then, of course, a contract should be honoured by a negotiation.
“But hopefully they can do that in an adult way, rather than you’ve hurt my feelings, I’m suing you.”
Red Bull yet to work out who will drive in Sergio Perez’s place in 2025
Max Verstappen has already had five teammates in Formula 1 and may be about to have a sixth next year.
Yuki Tsunoda is a candidate to replace Perez, while his RB teammate Liam Lawson is in Red Bull’s sights as well.
Both drivers would have a serious job on their hands coping with being Verstappen’s teammate going into next year.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links
Lawson will have less a dozen Grand Prix under his belt when he heads to the Australian Grand Prix next year regardless of what team he’s racing for.
Red Bull are more convinced by his temperament but whether he will step up quickly enough to match the team’s ambitions is another matter.
Tsunoda, on the other hand, appears to have developed the raw pace to race for a top team in F1 over the past four seasons.
However, question marks remain over whether he’s got the right mindset to be in a championship winning car.
Leave feedback about this