Sergio Perez spent the last half of the 2024 Formula 1 season fighting for his Red Bull seat, having struggled to match the performances of Max Verstappen.
Helmut Marko says Red Bull now faces a decision over whether to keep Perez on board, despite having a contract for the 2025 season.
There has been a lot of speculation over whether Perez will need to be bought out of his current agreement, or if Red Bull can keep him on in an ambassador role that was previously offered to Daniel Ricciardo.
Much of Perez’s season has been characterised by mistakes made during qualifying, which has put him on the back foot in races. The Mexican suffered from six Q1 exits by the time they reached Las Vegas, largely in part due to the pressure he put on his second lap.
This alarming trend was first spotted last year, after Perez failed to reach Q3 five times in a row between the Monaco, Spanish, Austrian, and British Grands Prix.
Discussing Perez’s form compared to Max Verstappen before the 2024 season started on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Karun Chandhok explained what Perez needed to do avoid losing his seat.
Karun Chandhok says Sergio Perez needed massive ‘mentality shift’ to save Red Bull seat
Perez has not beaten Verstappen since the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with him being outscored at every race during the 2024 season due to the Dutchman’s ruthless consistency.
It is a testament that Verstappen only finished outside the top six once during the Qatar GP Sprint race. Chandhok explained how Perez needed to completely change his mentality going into race weekends to get anywhere near his teammate.
“I think it’s a mentality shift that has to happen, being number two to this guy there is no shame in that. There really isn’t, he’s one of the greatest talents in the history of F1,” said Chandhok.
“But that’s a really tough shift to make, going into a season and saying ‘I’m going to be second’ before it’s even started.”
Will Sergio Perez keep his seat in 2025?
Given that Perez has failed to capitalise on any mentality shift this year, it seems like he is unlikely to stay involved with Red Bull in a competitive capacity.
Perez has arguably cost them the Constructors’ Championship this year, which will impact the team’s prize money distribution at the end of the season.
READ MORE: Red Bull driver Sergio Perez’s life outside F1 from net worth to nickname
Although Red Bull has more time to conduct wind tunnel testing next year as a result of finishing third, the team will want to add to their Constructors’ Championship tally given the added commercial opportunities it brings.
Whoever Red Bull chooses to replace Perez is likely to come from their sister team VISA CashApp RB, which currently sees only Yuki Tsunoda appearing on the 2025 entry list.
