Sergio Pérez’s time at Red Bull Racing seems to be over.
According to ESPN, “Red Bull has decided to move forward” after the finale of the 2024 Formula 1 season this Sunday in Abu Dhabi. Perez failed to finish the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday after saying his car lost momentum while trying to accelerate to receive a green flag.
Perez has struggled mightily this season and his poor form is the reason Red Bull is third in the constructors’ standings despite Max Verstappen claiming his fourth consecutive world championship at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Perez is a distant eighth in the standings, the worst performance of any driver among the top four teams, and his points total is less than 40% of Verstappen’s.
Perez, 34, has been at Red Bull since 2021 and has been Verstappen’s teammate during all four of their championships. Pérez won five races in his first three seasons with the team and finished fourth, third and second in the standings.
This season he only has four podiums and one lap led. His finish in Qatar was the sixth time he failed to score points in 23 races.
Pérez has also had problems in qualifying. After starting in the top six in each of the first six races, Pérez’s qualifying form disappeared because the Red Bull car was not as fast as it had been. Pérez has started outside the top 10 in 11 races so far in 2024.
His departure from Red Bull generates intrigue for the second seat alongside Verstappen. The RB junior team features cars for Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson, as Lawson replaced Daniel Ricciardo mid-season. Williams’ Franco Colapinto has shown speed and has also been mentioned as a possibility to move into the Red Bull family. However, Colapinto’s cars have suffered a lot of accident damage in his brief stint in F1 this season.
Pérez has driven for Sauber, McLaren and what is now the Aston Martin team, as well as Red Bull, in his F1 career. And a line in the ESPN report raises the possibility that Perez’s F1 career could continue. Cadillac will enter F1 in 2026 and Pérez is incredibly popular in his native Mexico. Despite his struggles this season, Perez would be a big step up for Cadillac in two seasons and would also be a strong marketing asset.