With all the indications being that Red Bull is prepared to push Sergio Perez out if he doesn’t decide to vacate his cockpit, the Mexican driver isn’t going without a fight.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix looks set to be Perez’s final race behind the wheel of a Red Bull F1 car, whether he likes it or not.

What’s the latest on Sergio Perez’s Red Bull future?

Rumours regarding Perez’s future with Red Bull have swirled all season in the midst of what has been, mostly, a dismal year for last year’s runner-up.

Perez has had dips in form sporadically through his four seasons with Red Bull, but F1 2024 was on a different level – after a strong start to the year in which he scored multiple podiums in the first quarter of the season, his performances tailed away as the RB20’s development went in the wrong direction.

Perez has not finished in the top five since the Miami Grand Prix in early May, 18 races ago. In the same period, teammate Max Verstappen consolidated his lead in the Drivers’ Championship to clinch the title at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Verstappen’s points tally is almost triple that of Perez’s, with the Mexican driver slipping to eighth overall – his points tally contributing little to Red Bull’s championship hopes, with the Milton Keynes-based squad unable to defend its crown as reigning Constructors’ Champions.

Earlier this year, Perez came extremely close to being replaced in his car for the second half of the season as Daniel Ricciardo was seemingly set to step into the car after the Belgian Grand Prix – a decision that was rowed back on at the last moment in order to keep the status quo.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner explained his reasoning as being that neither Ricciardo nor the prodigal Liam Lawson represented a clear step above a performing Perez, with the hope being that Perez would return to that level at tracks like Baku and Singapore, venues he’s won at in the past.

In retrospect, this choice has proven a mistake. Aside from a better showing in Baku, in which Perez showed genuinely race-winning pace with a little more fortune, the Mexican has scored just a further 21 points as Red Bull slipped down to third in the championship standings.

It’s led to a firm decision being made at Red Bull as the season reaches its conclusion – it’s time to try someone new for F1 2025. The leading contenders are VCARB’s Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, with the considerably less experienced Lawson seemingly leading the charge to replace Perez.

To achieve this change, some dominos have to fall – the first being the requirement to extricate Perez from the cockpit. It’s not an easy task – after all, Perez is under contract with Red Bull for another two years, and the exact terms of his contract – such as performance clauses – are not known.

Assuming contract clauses are in place, it’s impossible to think that Perez has lived up to meet them and should, in theory, make life easier for Red Bull to pull the plug.

But Perez is a beloved member of the Red Bull squad, and is eager to keep the Mexican driver involved for the future. To that end, a cushy number as a Red Bull ambassador/marketing driver – like what David Coulthard has done for the last 18 years or so – is on the table, should Perez choose to accept it.

Horner, speaking after the Qatar Grand Prix, made it clear that he wants Perez to “reach his own conclusions”, a clear message, essentially pleading with his driver to step down before the situation turns ugly through a forced exit.

Sergio Perez: I will be driving for Red Bull in F1 2025

Going into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the signs are that Perez is ignoring this message and, rather than taking the opportunity to prepare for a final race with some pomp and circumstance, is doubling down on his position.

It’s led Perez’s father, Antonio Perez Garibay, to weigh in on the situation via his own social media channels. Perez Garibay, a politician in Mexico, took to his Instagram to say: “Start looking for the lying journalists, F1.

“I force them to publicly apologise – whoever is the liar, them or their [publication].

“On Monday, I will publish a list with those lying journalists and media.”

It’s an ill-judged tactic, showing a clear lack of understanding (or a choice to ignore) of basic media literacy – reporting on a situation does not mean agreement with said situation, or that an agenda is at play.

Accusing media of lying, simply because of a dislike of truthful representation of the facts, is a tactic unlikely to sit well with Red Bull – a hyper-aware marketing machine – particularly as it comes quite soon after Perez Garibay created headlines for making homophobic comments about Ralf Schumacher as the German commented and reported on Perez’s future.

This post was made shortly after Perez Garibay also posted a picture of himself standing over stacks of Red Bull cans, with the caption saying “We have everything ready for 2025.”

With Perez’s father making his position clear, would Perez himself present a more circumspect position, cognisant of the message that is very clearly being sent in order to protect his dignity and a long-term future?

The answer to that is no. Perez duly spoke to media, including PlanetF1.com, on Thursday and refuted that he won’t be in the Red Bull next year.

“Nothing has changed since before, in terms of what I’ve said for the entire year: I’ve got a contract for next year, and I will be driving for Red Bull next year,” he said.

“For sure, I have seen the rumours, but nothing different to the last couple of months.

“So in that regard, nothing further to what I already said in the last six months. You know that I’m here, I renewed with the team early in the year, and I’m here to be the driver for the team next year, and is where my full focus is.”

Following up and asked if he would consider other series in future, the Mexican said he was keeping his focus on Formula 1 at this stage, believing there is still more to come from him at the top level.

“It’s hard to say at the moment,” he responded on the prospect of driving in other categories.

“I still feel like I have a few years in me in the sport at this level, and for sure, I want to finish with Red Bull.”

Accepting some, but not all, of the accountability for Red Bull’s slide down the championship order, Perez said: “Of course, I take responsibility, but also I don’t feel it’s fully all down to one person.

“I’m obviously part of a big organisation, a big team and it’s very unfortunate that we did not fight any harder for the Constructors’.”

Sergio Perez urged to ‘choose peace’ as poker play begins

With no indication that he’s preparing to step down, the next question is what happens next? Will Red Bull follow through and begin the process of extracting Perez via a legal fight? The indications are that this battle has begun behind closed doors at Red Bull, with Perez’s manager Julian Jakobi on the ground to carry out these duties.

It now becomes a high-stakes game of poker – if Perez’s contract proves watertight, might Red Bull will back down and allow Perez to continue for another year? It doesn’t look that way although, of course, it is possible the situation could evolve further.

Speaking to PlanetF1.com in the paddock on Friday night, Channel 4 commentator David Coulthard – a long-time Red Bull brand ambassador – urged Perez to choose the peaceful option rather than risk a longer-term future with the team.

Coulthard is perhaps the best-placed person in this regard, having stepped back from racing after a disappointing 2008 in order to take up a cushy ambassadorship gig for Red Bull – a job that sees him represent Red Bull’s brand via regular showruns around the world.

“Given the relationship they’ve had together, and the success they’ve had together – the wins he’s had – I would choose amicable in the face of inevitability rather than screaming and shouting,” he said.

“You might end up with a nation behind you going, you know, ‘nasty Red Bull’.

“But when you’ve been through emotional roller coasters together and you’ve been a good servant to the team… choose love, not war. Choose peace.

“It’s just too easy for people to fall out and slag each other off, and it could eventually fall on deaf ears because the world moves on.

“I would love to see Checo bang out a brilliant weekend because he’s a really nice guy.

“I don’t think anyone in the paddock would say he’s controversial or not approachable, or any of those things.

“So it’s always difficult to see someone struggling, but he has been struggling.”

It’s a testament to Perez’s work ethic, loyalty, and personality that he has been given such an extended period of time to try to rediscover his form, given the deteriorating position in the championship. It’s very clear Red Bull has done its utmost to bring Perez out of his funk – but there simply hasn’t been any sign of an improvement.

With stable regulations into 2025, and a car design focused on evolution, not revolution, there’s no reason to believe that the car rolling out of Milton Keynes in two months time will bring Perez forward once again – and so it’s time to rip off the band-aid.

“Look at what Sergio has done for us over the last four years,” Horner told PlanetF1.com on Saturday in Abu Dhabi.

“I think we really wanted to try and help turn his year around because he finished second in the world championship in 2023 and he’s won five races in our car, and played a key role in the Constructors’ Championships in 2022 and ’23 and so, and played an important role in in the ’21 Drivers’ Championship as well.

“So, you know, there was a loyalty to try and really help Checo. But, unfortunately, it didn’t materialise.”

Asked by PlanetF1.com on Saturday evening, after qualifying in 10th for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, whether he believes it’s possible Sunday’s race could be his last for Red Bull, Perez said his position remains unchanged: “No, like I said before, nothing new to add to what I’ve been saying before.”

It’s difficult to see how this situation doesn’t have an inevitable conclusion – even if Perez somehow won in a legal battle, the signs are clear that Red Bull no longer has confidence in his abilities, and is offering him a dignified safety net – all of which would still allow him to continue racing elsewhere, or start building towards a prospective comeback with the likes of Cadillac in 2026.

But the message of “jump before you’re pushed” appears to have been ignored, meaning the situation could turn ugly.

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