One ‘piece of paper’ showed Ted Kravitz that Christian Horner was going to axe Sergio Perez at Red Bull

Sergio Perez’s departure from Red Bull is imminent after suffering a torrid 2024 season with the team.

Red Bull suffered a dip in performance around the halfway point of the season as their RB20 became difficult to drive and fell behind their rivals McLaren and Ferrari.

Nevertheless, Max Verstappen was still able to extract the best result possible from the car and secure his fourth consecutive drivers’ title, winning by 63 points over Lando Norris.

On the other side of the garage, teammate Perez had been struggling long before then. Despite an encouraging start to the season with four podiums from the opening five races, the Mexican would not grab another after his third place finish at Shanghai.

Red Bull offered Perez a contract extension under the end of 2025 in the hope that the 34-year-old would improve his fortunes, but if any, they got worse. Perez endured his worst season with the team this season, finishing eighth in the championship with 152 points; 285 behind Verstappen.

With his woeful form showing no signs of improvement, Red Bull began to mount pressure on Perez as he fought to keep his seat.

After retiring from the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Perez looks set to leave Red Bull before the 2025 season, with an announcement expected soon.

Christian Horner brought the constructors’ standings on a ‘piece of paper’ to his post-race media briefing in Qatar

In the last 18 Grand Prix of the season, Perez only scored 49 points, which ultimately proved costly for Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship. Despite Verstappen’s 437 points, the team finished third behind McLaren and Ferrari in third.

Juan Pablo Montoya says Perez cost Red Bull £23m this season, presumably in crash damages and by losing the constructors’ title – and for journalist Ted Kravitz, it was the latter that seemed to be the deciding factor in Perez getting the boot from Red Bull.

Talking about when the team decided to sack Perez on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast, Kravitz said: “For me the clearest point was after the race in Qatar, when Christian Horner brought the Constructors’ Championship standings on a piece of paper into his post-race press briefing with the media.

“Now you always know what’s in Christian Horner’s head with what piece of paper he brings to his press briefing on a Sunday evening after the race. After Mexico, he brought in the telemetry of Lando and Max and what corner and why he felt that the two 10-second penalties for Max were a bit harsh.

“And then, completely unprompted I think, he brings in the constructors’ standings, which of course have all the points that Sergio Perez didn’t manage to score for the team.

“When you look at how many points Max scored, this should be (points at the constructors’ champions displays at McLaren) really at Red Bull and the reason it’s not is because of Sergio Perez’s form.”

How does Sergio Perez’s departure affect the Red Bull setup for 2025?

It has been clear that Visa Cash App RB drivers Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda were the frontrunners to replace Perez. But it is looking like the former will be getting the seat for 2025.

Lawson impressed Red Bull with his performances in 2024 where he replaced Daniel Ricciardo for the final six races of the season. The Kiwi driver even beat Perez in four of those races – although two of those were because of retirements for the Mexican.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

Lawson will have a great opportunity to showcase his speed alongside Verstappen, but many will wonder if it is too soon for the 22-year-old to make the step up to Red Bull. Tiff Needell thinks Red Bull should have promoted Tsunoda given that he has had four years experience with RB.

With Lawson set to join Red Bull, Tsunoda will stay with the Faenza squad – he already has a contract with the team for 2025 – and will likely be partnered with Isack Hadjar, with the Frenchman set to move up from Formula 2.

With Hadjar moving to F1, Red Bull juniors Arvid Lindblad and Pepe Marti are set to become reserve drivers alongside driving with Campos Racing in F2 next year.