Sergio Perez has waved his goodbye to Formula 1, however, this may not be the end of his motorsport career.
A Long Decline and An Uncertain Future for Perez
Sergio Perez left Red Bull at the end of the 2024 F1 season. The Mexican leaves Formula 1 with 281 races, 6 wins and annus horribilis behind his back.
The end of his F1 career at Red Bull felt inevitable after multiple underwhelming seasons.
“It’s not a major surprise, the only surprise with the Sergio Perez situation is that it’s taken this long for a decision to be made. It’s clearly a lot more complicated behind the scenes instead of the decision being made on the driver’s performance.
“Otherwise, with Red Bull’s history, Perez would have been gone a long time ago.” – Former McLaren mechanic Marc Priestley speaking to Casino Uden Rofus.
His lack of consistency, especially compared to his teammate Max Verstappen, cost Red Bull the 2024 Constructors’ championship. The team went from being the World Champions to finishing the season behind both McLaren and Ferrari.
With Red Bull finishing only 77 points behind victors McLaren, it is clear that better results from the Mexican would have a significant impact on the championship standings.
Perez won 152 points, the 34,70% of Max Verstappen’s 437 points. Oscar Piastri won 292 points to Lando Norris’ 374 (78,07%) while Carlos Sainz had 290 points to Charles Leclerc’s 356 points (81,46%).
READ MORE: Perez: RB20 Did Not Suit My Driving Style
His Career in Red Bull
With the Milton Keynes-based team, Perez raced 89 Grand Prix, from Bahrain 2021 to Abu Dhabi 2024.
Looking at his Qualifying results, up to the Grand Prix in Miami in 2023, Perez had an average qualifying position of 5.1. Naturally, this data can’t be compared to the results of his teammate. However, Checo was able to guarantee the team a Top 5. After Miami though, the average position was 10,05.
Surely, the whole situation in the team, the comparison with Verstappen and the pressure upon him didn’t help Perez’s performances and his decline was inevitable.
During the races, his performances were decent. However, the race after the 2023 Miami Grand Prix marked a significant turning point. From that moment, the gap between Perez and Verstappen widened considerably.
Although Perez expressed numerous concerns, Red Bull’s car development favoured Verstappen’s preferences, inadvertently making the car less suited to Perez’s driving style.
The internal dynamics within the team, coupled with constant comparisons to Verstappen and mounting pressure, negatively affected Perez’s performance, leading to an inevitable decline.
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What About His Future?
For now, there is nothing certain about Sergio Perez’s future outside Formula 1. But the options to still be involved in the world of motorsport, considering his big fan base and sponsorships.
“Sergio Perez has a massive fan base and huge commercial support behind him. He can compete in another form of racing, IndyCar might be the obvious choice right now but it will come down to his personal decision.” – Marc Priestley.
The US series often welcomes various drivers from the F1 paddock, such as Marcus Ericsson, Nigel Mansell and Romain Grosjean. So, the same can happen with Perez.
On the other hand, he might decide to step away from it to take other paths in life. Again, Priestley said:
“Sometimes, drivers come towards to the end of their long F1 careers and when they come to the end of their time in the sport, they might want to prioritise time with family. Perez has multiple options ahead of him though, I don’t doubt it.” – Marc Priestley.
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