Sergio Perez has struggled during this campaign. The Mexican has yet to win a race and has only stood on the podium four times. His poor form has left Red Bull unable to challenge for the constructors’ title going into the final race.
Despite the 34-year-old signing a new contract earlier this year, speculation around his seat has not gone away. Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson are vying for Checo’s spot at Red Bull but Perez is confident he will remain in the team.
Sergio Perez wants to “turn things around” next season
Sergio Perez has struggled since the upgrade package was introduced to the car at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2023. Despite showing signs of recovery at the beginning of the season, the Mexican fell off again. Despite his poor form, Checo put pen to paper for a two-year extension in June. However, his struggles have continued and speculation persists.
The six-time race winner is still confident of being a Red Bull driver next season. Before the Abu Dhabi weekend, he said: “I renewed earlier in the year and that is the intention and I have a contract and will stick to it. I am fully committed to the team.”
Sergio Perez on whether he will be driving for Red Bull in 2025:
"Yes, I said it before, I renewed early in the year. That is the intention. I have a contract and I will stick to it."#F1 #AbuDhabiGPpic.twitter.com/vnzrXXpxNv
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) December 5, 2024
“There’s a reason why I renew and I want to turn things around and work as hard as possible. I think we’ve learned a lot from each other, from the car, from the team, and I really hope we can be in a much better situation for next year.”
Perez has lacked the raw speed his teammate Max Verstappen has shown this season. With a difficult car, the Dutchman has extracted all the speed from the RB20. However, Perez could not. Sergio has been nowhere near Max and this has cost his team dearly. With a deficit of over 270 points to his teammate, it could be thought he is the reason Red Bull has dropped off in the constructors’ battle.
Sergio Perez’s justification for poor 2024 showing
The RB20 has not lived up to its’ predecessors. Both drivers have complained of the rear of the car stepping out at low speeds and a general lack of balance. This has meant pushing the car has been difficult. This is what Checo is pointing to for his lack of performance.
The Mexican said: “I wouldn’t say I regret [2024] because I gave it all and with that, I’m pretty relaxed about it. I think it’s just the fact that the car was so difficult, and we understood the issues too late in the year, so we were always working with something that wasn’t delivering the way we thought.”
Despite a tricky car, Verstappen has made the most of it and won the championship. In contrast, Perez has failed to make it out of the first session in qualifying on six occasions. There is a big drop-off between the drivers’ performances. Red Bull will decide if the gap could be shortened by looking elsewhere.
