Sergio Perez leaving Red Bull after 2024 Formula One season
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Red Bull's Sergio Perez looks dejected after qualifying in ninth place at the Qatar Grand Prix.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON – Veteran driver Sergio Perez is leaving Red Bull after this season, ESPN reported on Dec 2.
While his teammate Max Verstappen has won his fourth consecutive Formula One world championship, the 34-year-old Mexican sits in eighth place in the drivers’ standings with one race remaining.
The 2024 F1 calendar concludes on Dec 8 with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Perez has no wins this season and all four of his podium finishes came in the season’s first five events.
After he failed to finish the Qatar Grand Prix on Dec 1, team boss Christian Horner discussed Perez’s future at Red Bull.
“I’m going to let Checo come to his own conclusions; nobody’s forcing him one way or another,” he said.
“It’s not a nice situation for him to obviously be in.”
Perez signed a contract extension until 2026 earlier in 2024
He can be moved into an ambassadorial role, however, if he opts to remain at Red Bull.
Perez, who joined Red Bull in 2021, has recorded six wins and 39 podium finishes since making his F1 debut in 2011.
His last victory was the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
His place as Verstappen’s teammate has been questioned for months, with the Mexican’s results so poor that his position looks untenable.
An announcement appears likely after this weekend’s finale in Abu Dhabi.
“We’re very much focused on really supporting him to the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi, and then obviously, it’s not an enjoyable situation for Checo, being in this position with speculation every week,” Horner added.
“He’s old enough and wise enough to know what the situation is, and yeah, let’s see where we are after Abu Dhabi.”
To add to his woes, Perez is the only driver for a top four team yet to win this season.
He has scored 152 points from 23 races, a paltry total eclipsed by Verstappen’s 429.
While Verstappen has secured his fourth title and won nine races, including last weekend at Lusail, Perez has not finished on the podium since he was third in China in April.
He started the 2024 season strongly with three second places in four races but then his form crashed, failing to finish inside the top five since Miami in May.
“Sometimes things don’t go your way,” Perez told reporters in Qatar last week.
“We’re still here and optimistic that we can turn things around as a team, especially for next year”
“I’ve been 14 years in the sport and I don’t speak about my contracts publicly,” he added, when pressed.
“So I will not comment on that. I know exactly where I am and I will not speak about it publicly.”
If Perez is moved out, New Zealander Liam Lawson looks a likely replacement.
Argentinian rookie Franco Colapinto has also been tipped as a possibility, but a string of costly crashes for Williams may have made that less likely.
Red Bull also have Isack Hadjar challenging for the F2 title and could place him at RB alongside Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda, if Lawson moves up.
In other news, Australian Jack Doohan will take the place of Esteban Ocon for the last grand prix of the season, their Alpine team announced on Dec 2.
“Alpine Formula One Team announces that reserve driver Jack Doohan will race in the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in place of Esteban Ocon,” the team said.
“The change allows Esteban to be released to Haas to drive in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi.”
Doohan, who has already been announced as an official driver for Alpine for the 2025 season, alongside Pierre Gasly, will also participate in the end-of-season test for the team at the Yas Marina Circuit. REUTERS, AFP
