Sergio Perez could well be facing his final race with Red Bull at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which is why the race is crucial to ensuring his future within the team.
A summit between figureheads at Red Bull is set to take place in the days after the season finale to discuss how to proceed with Perez, who is facing growing pressure to step down following a series of poor results.
Perez has a contract for 2025 but Christian Horner has said the Mexican must ‘come to his own conclusions’ over whether to continue beyond this season, which some in Mexican media believe to be Red Bull effectively telling him to retire.
However, all is not lost for Perez with a report from PlanetF1.com stating what the Mexican must do in the Abu Dhabi GP to sway the higher-ups at Red Bull to keep him on board for 2025.
Sergio Perez must have ‘stunning’ Abu Dhabi result to keep Red Bull seat
Perez’s form this season has been partially characterised by how difficult it has been for Red Bull to get the RB20 into the right setup window, which the Qatar GP showing just how much of knife edge it can be for the team.
Red Bull was nowhere on Friday and during the Sprint race Perez had to trundle around in last place, with Verstappen suffering his first finish outside the top six since 2021.
While Red Bull made drastic changes once they were out of Parc Ferme, Perez still found himself seven-tenths adrift of Verstappen. A mechanical problem put an early end to his race in Qatar, where it was likely he would finish just inside the top ten places.
Perez’s underwhelming form has contributed to Red Bull finishing third in the Constructors’ Championship, and according to the report by PlanetF1.com Perez must achieve a ‘stunning’ result in Abu Dhabi otherwise he will be replaced in the senior team.
Sergio Perez’s previous history at Abu Dhabi
Perez’s form at Abu Dhabi has fluctuated over his years at Red Bull, with his first attempt finishing in P15 after he was kept out by the team to hold up Lewis Hamilton in the 2021 title battle.
He achieved a podium in 2022 but fell short of securing second in the Drivers’ Championship to Charles Leclerc, a feat that was almost repeated in 2023 when he had the most dominant car in F1 history.
| Year | Result |
| 2021 | P15 |
| 2022 | P3 |
| 2023 | P4 |
Perez finished the race in fourth last year after being handed a five-second time penalty for a collision with Lando Norris. He would also get handed a warning by the stewards for his language, which paved the way for changes to the International Sporting Code this year.
A good result is possible for Perez given Red Bull’s form at the Yas Marina Circuit, although the Mexican will no doubt be feeling the pressure to perform if it really is his last venture out with the team.
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