Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko points the finger solely at Sergio Perez for the title defeat which “hurt” the team.

While Red Bull were unable to maintain their dominant ways in F1 2024 which had seen them storm to consecutive title doubles, the struggles of Sergio Perez were a particular concern with his podium at April’s Chinese Grand Prix proving his final of the season.

Sergio Perez deficit cost Red Bull the title, claims Marko

Already at the summer break, speculation was swirling over the future of Perez but the Mexican returned to see out the season, ultimately finishing 285 points behind team-mate Max Verstappen who won his fourth straight Drivers’ Championship. But, Red Bull relinquished the Constructors’ crown to McLaren with Ferrari muscling their way into P2.

And Marko has his culprit for that outcome.

Asked in an interview with Kleine Zeitung whether Red Bull were saddened not to have retained the Constructors’ title, Marko confirmed: “Very sad, it hurts.

“The tip of the scales was that the difference between Max and Checo in the championship was 282 points, while the difference between the drivers of the competition was much smaller. That explains why we lost the Constructors’ Championship.”

Word had it going into the Abu Dhabi season finale that this would be Perez’s final race as a Red Bull driver, rumour turning to reality when Perez announced his departure after the race weekend.

While Perez’s final season with Red Bull was a bruising experience, Marko looks at the full picture as a success, but claimed somewhere along the line in 2024, Perez and the Red Bull RB20 became a total mismatch.

“There has been a certain drop in his performance,” Marko acknowledged, “although the overall balance over the years has been positive.

“In 2021, he contributed a lot to Max’s first World Championship title, won a total of five grands prix and was runner-up in the World Championship.

“Now, however, something between this car and his driving style no longer matched.”

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Perez has not completely severed ties with Red Bull, however, as team boss Christian Horner confirmed some seat time outside of race weekends for the Mexican.

“He’s still going to be involved with the team,” Horner told talkSPORT after Perez’s exit. “He will be doing a couple of show runs with us during next year.

“But it was right for him – because it wasn’t enjoyable for him either, getting all this scrutiny and pressure and expectation every weekend.”

Liam Lawson – with just 11 grands prix on the clock – steps up from Racing Bulls to partner Verstappen at Red Bull from F1 2025. Isack Hadjar meanwhile graduates from F2 after his runner-up championship finish to partner Yuki Tsunoda at the Red Bull B-team.

And Horner was asked whether dropping down to Racing Bulls was an option on the table for Perez, a demotion which Pierre Gasly previously took in 2019.

“I think at the stage that Checo is at in his career, that wouldn’t really have been an option for him,” Horner clarified to Sky F1.

“It was nothing that we really ever discussed, or we didn’t discuss or even talk about.

“So he’s come to this decision now, and obviously we support it fully.”

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