It is no secret that Sergio Perez is facing a potential exit from Red Bull after a difficult season that could potentially cost them the Constructors Championship.
Red Bull is likely to finish in third behind Ferrari and McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship, with McLaren 49 points clear ahead of the season’s final three races. Perez has underperformed this season, owing to a few complications with the RB20 balance that have induced an error-ridden season.
Perez’s qualifying performances are a testament to that, with his average position this season being 9th place. He has also slipped over 200 points behind Max Verstappen in the drivers table, which reportedly means Perez is in breach of his current Red Bull contract.
There are questions over what might happen next at Red Bull, given they have Liam Lawson waiting in the wings at Visa CashApp RB and are potentially evaluating Franco Colapinto for a seat after impressing at Williams.
Discussing what could happen next with Perez on the Flat Chat with Codders podcast, journalist Alex Kalinauckas believes there is one ‘baffling’ reason why he might end up staying at Red Bull.
Sergio Perez brings in £23m worth of sponsorship money to Red Bull
Perez is one of the most heavily backed drivers on the grid, with his biggest supporter being Mexican communications giant Telmex owned by billionaire Carlos Slim.
Telmex has paid Red Bull more than £100m since Perez joined in 2021, while he also has brand deals with Disney+ and Nestle which sees the KitKat logo displayed on his car.
According to Kalinauckas, this portfolio of brands is what is keeping Perez afloat at Red Bull as they search for a way to plug up the potential gap that it could bring if he was to be axed at the end of the season.
“That company is so big and it needs to have a bottom line, and it wouldn’t want to have a $30m (£23m) hole if Perez was to leave in its finances. So the sponsorship seems to be what is keeping Perez there, and it’s strange. You almost are, in effect, in a pay driver scenario there,” said Kalinauckas.
“He’s better than that tag suggests, but if the only reason he is being kept around is money and if we’re in the same situation as next year where there is no way Red Bull will win the Constructors’ Championship, that’s a baffling position for what is one of F1’s best teams.”
Sergio Perez might make unwanted history if Red Bull lose Constructors’ title
It looks increasingly likely that Red Bull will lose the Constructors’ Championship if Perez is unable to improve his form in the final three races.
F1 expert Gary Anderson thinks Red Bull must provide him with a car capable of exploiting his talents, with the upcoming street race in Las Vegas favouring his driving style.
READ MORE: Red Bull driver Sergio Perez’s life outside F1 from net worth to nickname
But if things do not improve, Perez will have cost a team the Constructors’ title twice, the first time an F1 driver has done so in the championship’s 70-year history.
Verstappen has roughly contributed 72% of Red Bull’s points total this year, and a look at other teams shows Lando Norris has contributed 55% at McLaren along with Charles Leclerc at Ferrari.
Leave feedback about this