Sergio Perez had yet another disappointing weekend in Mexico. With the country being his home, Checo was hoping to revive his poor season by getting on the podium in front of his fans. But the Mexican GP was perhaps his worst race of the season as he only managed to finish 17th which was the last position in the race as 3 drivers had retired. Red Bull’s team principal, Christian Horner has even suggested a possible change in the driver lineup for the rest of the season.
Ever since Red Bull lost their lead in the Constructors’ Championship at Baku, there has been a lot of speculation suggesting that Perez will be replaced by Red Bull soon. There were some rumours going around indicating that Perez would announce his retirement from F1 at the Mexican GP. But the Red Bull driver put those rumours to rest with a single tweet indicating that he is staying at Red Bull. But does the Austrian team want him anymore?
Christian Horner hints potential driver swap before 2024 season finale
After the Mexican GP, reporters had to ask Christian Horner whether Perez would finish this season. To this, Horner indirectly indicated that he would not.
“Look, it’s a performance-based business. There comes a point in time that difficult decisions have to be made.”
Sergio Perez admits that he has had a terrible 2024 F1 season. But he looks to turn things around at the Mexico City GP.
“I know I’ve had a terrible season, so if I can get a strong result it can change my season. I think momentum in F1 is very important, but I also know how… pic.twitter.com/AnGsvKMZs9
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) October 24, 2024
So Horner could be making this difficult decision to replace Perez before the season ends. There is no question that Perez has cost Red Bull the lead in the Constructors’ Championship this year. The Austrian team is now 54 points behind McLaren and 25 points behind Ferrari.
With just 4 race weekends left, it will be very challenging for Red Bull to take back the lead. But Horner will not want the team to be stuck in a similar position next year. Hence, he will be looking for a better replacement for Perez.
Who will sit replace Sergio Perez if Red Bull makes the decision?
When Liam Lawson was chosen to replace Daniel Ricciardo at VCARB, Helmut Marko indicated that the remainder of the season would be a shootout between Tsunoda and Lawson. The better driver could pilot the RB21 alongside Max Verstappen in 2025.
After just 2 races, it seems as though Lawson is leading this race. He got a 9th place finish after starting 19th in Austin, and in Mexican, Lawson drove a strong race until he damaged his front wing while battling with Colapinto. Tsunoda on the other hand finished behind Lawson in Austin and crashed out on the first lap in Mexico. But there are still 4 more races to go.
Lawson overtook Sergio Pérez, and didn’t have the nicest of hand signals towards the Mexican driver as he went past him
😬#F1 #MexicoGP pic.twitter.com/gBZC1HtF3t
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) October 27, 2024
If either of these drivers is chosen to replace Perez, it will naturally leave an open VCARB seat. It is unlikely that Perez will drive in F1 if he is let go by Red Bull. So one of the academy drivers could be called up to step into the VCARB.
There is Isack Hadjar, who is a Championship contender in Formula 2, and Ayumu Iwasa who is racing in the Super Formula series in Japan. Both of these drivers are extremely talented and could be a great asset for Red Bull in the future. So it makes sense for the team to have them started in VCARB soon.
Do you think Sergio Perez will be out of Red Bull? If so, will it be before or after the season finale? Also, who will replace Perez at Red Bull? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.
