Sergio Perez’s slump in form this season has cost Red Bull dearly. The defending champions will lose their crown after dominating the 2023 season. They sit 59 points behind leaders McLaren with one race remaining and Perez has seemingly played a role in this downfall. The 34-year-old racer sits over 270 points behind his teammate and is yet to win this term.
The speculation is that Perez will leave Red Bull after the final race in Abu Dhabi. The two prime candidates to replace the Mexican are the two racing Bull drivers Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda and the Japanese driver looks to have his boss’s backing.
Is Yuki Tsunoda the favourite to replace Sergio Perez?
Tsunoda has been in Formula 1 for four years. He grew as a racer and became a more consistent performer then. This has not gone unnoticed by his current team principal Laurent Mekies who believes the 24-year-old would flourish at Red Bull.
The Frenchman said: “I think he has made a step this season that nobody could forecast and it’s something he should be proud of. Of course, I think he’s ready to get a faster car. We are hoping to provide him with this faster car. But, of course, I think he’s ready for a faster car and a faster team or a bigger team.”
It is understood Sergio Perez will be offered an ambassadorial role within the Red Bull family, much like Daniel Ricciardo. So with Perez looking to move out of the second Red Bull seat, Tsuonda brings the experience and consistency Red Bull is looking for.
🚨 | Sergio Perez looks set to exit the Red Bull team after the season finale in Abu Dhabi
The leading contenders for the seat are Kiwi driver Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda.#F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/0kC3VN13Mz
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) December 2, 2024
Despite starting strongly after replacing Ricciardo, Lawson has started to show signs of struggle and has been outraced by Yuki. It might be too early to put Lawson alongside Verstappen like it was for Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly who made the step up too early and it nearly cost them their F1 careers.
Why has Sergio Perez failed at Red Bull?
Sergio Perez has found it difficult to match Max Verstappen in the same machinery. When the car is not the fastest, the Mexican has failed to extract every bit of performance out of the car, something his teammate has managed. Even when the car dominated, Perez still lacked raw speed compared to the Dutchman.
In 2023, there was a drop-off from Perez after a strong start and many thought he could battle Max for the championship. However, after the Spanish Grand Prix’s upgrade package, Perez fell off and has never recovered.
Perez is suffering from a lack of confidence in the car and himself. This leads him to overdrive the car and make mistakes. Red Bull will be looking to bring fresh blood in to push the team back to the top of the pile. Should it be Lawson or Tsunoda? Let us know in the comments.
