Adiós Checo. Why Red Bull reversed its contract decision
- Darian Crowley
- Dec 18, 2024
- 3 min read
Checo's Departure
Sergio Perez's F1 career looks to be over, as Red Bull have confirmed he will not drive for the team in 2025 and there are no other seats available for the foreseeable future.
The decision was made despite the team giving the Mexican a contract to 2026 earlier this year. But the decision is still no surprise.
2024 was the worst season of Perez's career in terms of performance. It started off well with Red Bull claiming several 1-2's, Perez following a dominant Verstappen home. He looked set for another P2 in the championship.
Then came the usual mid-season slump, where the gap between Verstappen and Perez multiplied. 2023 was bad enough, but looked pale compared to 2024.
Perez's performances weren't solely his fault. Red Bull clearly suffered a car performance decline after China, coinciding with several staff changes including Adrian Newey's departure.
However, Verstappen still scored more points than any other driver, even several wins, and sealed his fourth world title with two races to spare.
Perez though failed to even score a podium after China, or even a top 5 after the next Miami race. This was compounded by regular Q1 exits, being 1 second off the pace of Verstappen and multiple collisions.
Red Bull gave Perez a new contact in Canada in a hope to motivate him. It didn't work. Rumours swirled that he would still get sacked. His confidence shrunk as the season closed.
By the end he was making basic errors like parking his car on the wrong spot in Mexico or forgetting that the green light means go in Qatar.
Red Bull can be brutal with drivers, but this decision was a no-brainer and should've come earlier. Red Bull dropped to third in the constructor's championship, as this season saw one of the biggest gaps between teammates in the history of F1.
Lawson or Tsunoda?
Perez has had a long career and will down as the sport's most successful Mexican driver. But the sport moves on quickly. Who will be Max's teammate?
Unlike their decision to sign Perez in 2021, the team are now more likely to look for young blood.
Franco Colapinto had emerged as a contender, given his strong start with Williams and had a large financial backing like Perez.
However, he suffered a string of crashes towards the end of the season and Red Bull won't be willing to sacrifice championship points for financial backing again.
It looks like they'll be doing it the old-fashioned Red Bull way. Sign a driver from the junior team.
Both Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson have tried to make their case.
Tsunoda was disappointing in his first two seasons, building up a high crash bill and dominated by his teammate Pierre Gasly.
When Gasly left, Tsunoda stepped up to team leader. This put him in contention for the seat. He has shown much more maturity while maintaining some aggression.
He has a combination of youth and experience. He's the reason why Nyck De Vries and Daniel Ricciardo lost their seats, was given a post-season run in this year's Red Bull car, and they should seriously consider him.
Liam Lawson though is the favourite. Lawson has only been drafted in to drive a handful of races in the last two seasons. But he has shown much quicker adaptation to the car when compared to Tsunoda in 2021.
He has also shown he can be aggressive but not overly crash prone. However, despite being much less experienced than Tsunoda he's only a couple of years younger.
Whoever, Red Bull (Horner/Marko) pick, they'll want a driver to adapt quickly. The team's car is based around Verstappen's difficult driving style. The pressure will be on. Red Bull aren't expected to have the fastest car the start of 2025, but will still be expected to challenge for championships.
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