Sergio Perez’s Red Bull F1 future has been under plenty of scrutiny over the last few months and it looks as if the debacle may be coming to an end soon.
His poor performance across the 2024 season cost Red Bull a chance of winning the Constructors’ Championship.
Perez has few excuses to hide behind either considering that teammate Max Verstappen won the Drivers’ title by a comfortable margin of 63 points.
Either Liam Lawson or Yuki Tsunoda have been touted to replace him, but the Mexican’s 2025 contract needs to be dealt with before any replacements can be picked.
Perez may blame a very difficult braking issue for his downturn in form and confidence this year which led him to go 19 races without achieving a podium.
However, it’s too late for that now and it appears that his only chance of continuing in Formula 1 will be to wait for an opportunity to arise for 2026.
Ralf Schumacher gives a ‘number of reasons’ for Sergio Perez not losing his F1 seat in 2023
It wasn’t just the 2024 campaign that was miserable for the Mexican after he struggled for much of the 2023 season too.
Verstappen called Perez an excellent teammate which may have helped the 35-year-old to buy some extra time, but there’s no hiding from the statistics.
He collected 9.5 points per race this season, exactly half the tally Verstappen achieved (19) and was only one of eight drivers from the top four teams who failed to win a race.
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Perez is set to earn less as an ambassador for Red Bull if he opts to remain with them for a little bit longer after potentially losing his seat, but that isn’t likely to do much good for his career.
Ralf Schumacher admitted to sport.de that the six-time winner nearly lost his seat in 2023 but was saved for several reasons.
“There were probably a number of reasons for that,” he said.
Which F1 team could Sergio Perez sign with in the future?
His efforts over the last few seasons won’t have done his reputation much good but there is a market for experienced, race-winning drivers in Formula 1.
Former team Aston Martin (formerly Force India) adores him and knows him very well from the seven seasons they spent together.
Lance Stroll won’t be able to hang onto his seat forever if he keeps up his poor form, so maybe conversations could be had there to reunite Perez with Adrian Newey.
READ MORE: Christian Horner and Helmut Marko will be ‘banging their heads’ after making key 2024 Sergio Perez decision
Cadillac are on the lookout for two solid drivers to kickstart their operations from 2026 and two who have no commitments for the coming year would be advantageous.
The likes of Daniel Ricciardo and Valtteri Bottas could be in the frame too, but they don’t bring the levels of sponsorship that the Mexican boasts anyways.
He still has a huge fanbase and significant backing behind him, so if he can find a route back onto the grid then there’s a chance that he can yet achieve some more success.
