The F1 career of Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Pérez has come to an end — at least for the time being — as an agreement has been reached that sees the 34-year-old leave the team.
After surviving strong rumours ahead of the summer break that Daniel Ricciardo would replace him, his journey has now ended with the Milton Keynes-based team.
Sergio Pérez
“I’m incredibly grateful for the past four years with Oracle Red Bull Racing and for the opportunity to race with such an amazing team.
“Driving for Red Bull has been an unforgettable experience and I’ll always cherish the successes we achieved together. We broke records, reached remarkable milestones, and I’ve had the privilege of meeting so many incredible people along the way.
“A big thank you to every person in the Team from the management, engineers and mechanics, catering, hospitality, kitchen, marketing and communications, as well as everyone at Milton Keynes, I wish you all the best for the future.
“It has also been an honour to race alongside Max as a teammate all these years and to share in our success.
“A special thank you to the fans around the world, and especially to the Mexican fans for your unwavering support every day.
“We’ll meet again soon. And remember…Never give up.”
Christian Horner
“I would like to thank Checo for all he has done for Oracle Red Bull Racing over the past four seasons.
“From the moment he joined in 2021 he proved himself to be an extraordinary Team player, helping us to two Constructors’ titles and to our first 1-2 finish in the Drivers’ championship. His five wins, all on street circuits, were also a spectacular mark of his determination to always push to the limit.
“While Checo will not race for the Team next season, he will always be an extremely popular Team member and a treasured part of our history. Thank you, Checo.”
Following Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon’s struggles against Max Verstappen once Daniel Ricciardo departed for Renault, Red Bull decided to look outside their pool of drivers and signed the Mexican at the conclusion of the 2020 season — he was a free agent after Aston Martin signed Sebastian Vettel.
Pérez survived for four seasons. However, despite getting a new two-year contract back in early June, a horrendous drop-off in performance means his time at Red Bull is over.
A tough 2021 for the most part
Sergio Pérez had a tough first season at Red Bull Racing.
Although he took his first win for the team in Azerbaijan and scored five podiums overall, he was generally the slowest out of the Red Bull and Mercedes drivers. He finished 205.5 points adrift of his Dutch teammate as Verstappen took his first title.
The key role he played in Turkey
Nonetheless, he defended heroically on two occasions that season, and it will leave him with a great legacy from his time at Red Bull.
At the Turkish Grand Prix, he went side-by-side with Lewis Hamilton through turns 12 to turn 14 — including a brief trip through pit entry — and it continued down to turn 1 as the Mexican showed superb skill on the brakes in the wet to fend the seven-time World Champion off for P4.
Heroics in Abu Dhabi to help Verstappen
What followed a couple of months later at the Abu Dhabi GP against the same driver was even better.
Hamilton and Verstappen were tied on points heading into the season finale at the Yas Marina circuit. As both drivers had pitted pretty early for the hard tyre, Pérez led the way on used softs.
The Mexican played the perfect game on lap 20. Hamilton had pulled a 8-second gap to his title rival before he caught Pérez in the other Red Bull.
After a pass by the Mercedes driver with DRS on the first straight, Pérez dived back down the inside to reclaim the lead. On his much fresher boots, Hamilton got far better traction on exit to take the lead again.
Critically, however, he made the move before the DRS detection point, allowing the now 34-year-old to come back at him and make the move before turn 9.
Pérez backed Hamilton up in sector 3, and did the same in sector 1 on the next lap, meaning Verstappen closed right in before the Brit eventually made his move before turn 6, covering the inside line this time.
It meant Hamilton never held a pit stop advantage later in the race when the VSC and Safety Car appeared, and it gave Verstappen the chance to win his first title in the most controversial of circumstances.
Strong starts in three consecutive seasons
A brilliant victory in mixed conditions at the Monaco GP in 2022 had Sergio Pérez within 15 points of Max Verstappen after seven rounds, with the car more understeery in the early part of that campaign — it was a trait that suited him.
He also bagged his first pole in Formula 1 in Saudi Arabia during that strong period.
Although the gap went out to 149 points in the end as Pérez finished 3rd in the standings, it was his strongest season by a margin.
2023 saw Pérez win in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan in the opening four rounds as he showed very strong race pace against Max Verstappen in both events. The race in Baku would be his final win in F1.
The campaign just finished saw Pérez score four Grand Prix podiums in the first five events as he was P2 in the Drivers’ Championship after six rounds.
A complete collapse in form
Crashes, track limits, Q1/Q2 eliminations and a lack of pace — it has been a sorry state of affairs for Sergio Pérez after those strong starts to 2023 and 2024.
Between those seasons, he was knocked out in Q1 and Q2 on eighteen occasions. He only outqualified Max Verstappen once on merit, too.
Across the last two campaigns, Pérez has been outscored by his teammate by a whooping 575 points. Despite the complete domination of the RB19, the Mexican driver stumbled over the line to finish P2 in 2023 — and he was 290 points behind Verstappen.
His lack of pace and errors would always catch up if Red Bull’s competitors closed in. McLaren and Ferrari ultimately overhauled them in the Constructors’ Championship, with Pérez plummeting to P8 on the Drivers’ side.
The 34-year-old scored just 49 points from Imola through to Abu Dhabi, one of the most damning statistics in modern F1.
A career to be proud of
In a career spanning 13 years, Sergio Pérez has driven for Sauber, Force India/Racing Point and Red Bull Racing.
The Mexican driver scored his first podium at the 2012 Malaysian GP with Sauber, although a mistake late in the race cost him a chance to snatch a sensational victory as he chased down Fernando Alonso following a wild afternoon of weather at Sepang.
Stuck in midfield machinery throughout his career before joining Red Bull Racing, the first win for Sergio Pérez would come 8 years later at the Sakhir Grand Prix during the pandemic.
It looked like any chance of a podium had gone on the first lap when Charles Leclerc spun him around at turn 4 as the Ferrari driver got it all wrong. However, a remarkable recovery followed.
At the back of the field in P18, he overtook lots of cars, including his teammate Lance Stroll to run in P3 before the Safety Car appeared. Mercedes’ implosion in the pits with mixed up tyre sets allowed him to take the lead, taking a stunning win by over 10s from Esteban Ocon in the end.
A further five victories followed, putting him tied for 43rd on the all-time list of drivers with a F1 victory. 39 podiums sees him 25th on that list.
Despite a bruising final couple of seasons in the sport with Red Bull Racing, Sergio Pérez can be very proud with his career and what he achieved.
