Sergio Perez is one of the most heavily-backed drivers on the Formula 1 grid. Up to this point, that has counted firmly in his favour as he fights for his Red Bull seat.
Perhaps his biggest supporter is Mexican communication giant Telmex, which is owned by the Slim family – one of the wealthiest on the planet. Telmex have paid Red Bull more than £100m since Perez arrived at the start of the 2021 season.
The 34-year-old also has deals with Disney and Nestle, which is why the KitKat logo is displayed on his crash helmet. Tied to the incentive for keeping Perez is the cost of letting him go.
Perez wants nearly £16m to walk away after signing a new one-plus-one contract in June. But he’s also shown this year that there’s a cost to keeping him.
Red Bull are likely to finish third in the constructors’ championship, with leaders McLaren 49 clear ahead of the season-ending triple-header. That is largely down to the underperformance of driver number 11 – Max Verstappen has scored all eight of the team’s wins and 13 of their 17 podiums.
That will cost them significant prize money at the end of the season. What’s more, Perez has racked up vast crash damage bills, making it more difficult for the team to comply with the cost cap.
KitKat’s Formula 1 deal may indicate the end of their partnership with Sergio Perez
Last week, Formula 1 announced that KitKat had become its official chocolate bar. Many saw this as a positive sign for Perez’s future.
He was now represented by a brand with close ties to the sport. But speaking on the Missed Apex F1 channel, journalist Joe Saward offered a different interpretation.
He reckons that KitKat want to remain visible in F1 but recognise that Perez may lose his seat. They may have diverted funds away from the beleaguered driver to a wider commercial agreement that will see their logo displayed trackside.
Saward said: “KitKat’s in the news because they’re sponsoring Formula 1. Why are they doing that? They weren’t doing that before.
“They were sponsoring some racing driver who wasn’t doing very well. Now they’re sponsoring Formula 1. What does that tell you? They’ll have trackside signage next year. Have they got more budget, less budget, or are they using their budget differently?”
Host Richard Ready assumed ‘the third one’ was true, to which Saward replied: “Yes. They have budgets. Somebody thinks that the budget is available to do a bit of promotion with Formula 1. They probably want to sell more KitKats in America.”
The brutal piece of F1 history awaiting Sergio Perez if Max Verstappen wins title at Red Bull
Saward also claims Red Bull are planning to sign Franco Colapinto as Perez’s replacement. They need to agree a deal with Williams but he’s optimistic that will happen.
The Argentine will allow Red Bull to maintain a strong presence in the Latin American market, albeit in different ways. Colapinto offers a £25m sponsorship package himself.
Perez’s teammate Verstappen could seal the drivers’ title this weekend. Lando Norris needs to outscore him by three or more points to take the fight to Qatar.
If that happens, Perez will make unwanted history. It will be the first time a driver has ‘cost’ their team the constructors’ title on two separate occasions (after 2021).
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