Sergio Perez reveals moment Red Bull exit became inevitable

Sergio Perez has revealed the moment it became clear his Red Bull Racing exit was innevitable.

After joining the team in 2021, following previous stints with Sauber, McLaren, and Racing Point, Perez struggled to extract the same level of performance from the Red Bull cars as his team-mate Max Verstappen in 2023 and 2024.

Despite a disappointing level of performance in 2023, he retained his contract into 2024. However, as the team watched the constructors' championship run away from it last year as McLaren and Ferrari overtook teh squad, doubts were cast over the Mexican driver's future with the team.

Speaking with F1.com, Perez revealed that it only became clear to him that his seat was in danger in Qatar at the end of November, early December. He explained:

“Everything happened really late in the season.

“I wasn’t really expecting it to happen. It only became clearer once we were in Qatar, and we started to discuss and negotiate my exit of the team. It all happened very quickly.”

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Erik Junius

Speaking about his exit at the time, team principal Christian Horner stated:

“Yeah, absolutely. Checo, he’s been a fantastic member of this team. It’s been a tough year for him but he’s a great person and of course [he] played such a key role in the ’21 drivers’ championship, ’22 and ’23 constructors’.

“He was second in the drivers’ world championship last year, he’s won five Grands Prix in our cars. But he reflected after the season and we sat down and discussed it last week about what are the next steps, and he’s decided that he’s going to take a bit of time out.

“We’re sad to see him leave the team, but obviously it’s time for him to spend with his young family as well and reflect on what he wants to do for the future.”

Red Bull decided to replace Perez before his contract came to its natural end, which had been extended through 2025. The Milton Keynes outfit evaluated rookie Liam Lawson and Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda over the last few races of the season and ultimately opted for the former to take the coveted spot alongside Verstappen. 

Now, though, the team has replaced Lawson after just two Grands Prix of his rookie season and swapped him with the Japanese driver ahead of the latter's home race at the Suzuka circuit.