Speaking to Sky Sports following confirmation of the exit of Sergio Pérez from Red Bull Racing, team boss Christian Horner discussed what went on following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Despite repeatedly stating he would be on the grid next year with Red Bull during media sessions as the season went on, it was confirmed on Wednesday evening CET that the 34-year-old’s time with the team is done.
What does the future hold for Pérez?
Horner hinted that Pérez could hold an ambassador role as he’ll still be involved with the team in a different capacity, confirming the Mexican will take a sabbatical from F1 at the very least.
“Yeah, absolutely [a difficult internal discussion].
“And I think, look, Checo, he’s been a fantastic member of this team. It’s been a tough year for him, but he’s a great person and played such a key role in the 21 Drivers’ Championship, 22′ and 23′ Constructors Championships.
“He was second in the Drivers’ World Championship last year. He’s won five Grands Prix in our cars.
“But he reflected after the season and we sat down and discussed it last week about what are the next steps. And he’s decided that he’s going to take a bit of time out, take a sabbatical from Formula One, essentially.
“And he’ll still be involved with the brand and the team, but he’s stepping back from driving duties moving forward.
“So, it was sad to see him leave the team. But it’s time for him to spend with his young family as well and reflect on what he wants to do for the future.”
The 2-year contract announcement in June
It was publicly confirmed ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix that Sergio Pérez had extended his contract by 2 years with Red Bull. He had dropped to P5 in the Drivers’ Championship after very tough events at Imola and Monaco.
However, despite Red Bull’s best efforts to show they were backing him, his form fell off a cliff.
“Yes, of course.
“I mean, at the time we signed it, he’d had four podiums in five races. So it was a logical extension just to remove speculation of which there was already too much around the team.
“And, of course, any contract has certain performance clauses and criteria within it. So it didn’t make any difference to this decision of Sergio’s to step away and take a sabbatical.”
The complete collapse in his performance
After scoring 103 points in the opening six events of the season, including Grand Prix podiums in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Japan and China, Pérez would only bag a further 49 over the remaining 18 rounds, finishing 285 points and seven spots behind teammate and 2024 F1 World Champion Max Verstappen.
Red Bull team principal Horner says Pérez was not sure why things had gone so wrong, although it was clear the RB20 became more difficult to drive as the season went on. Even Max Verstappen’s brilliance could not disguise the problems at times.
“I think that’s the thing. I think that he’s not really quite sure.
“Of course, the car became more narrow in its performance window, and he struggled with that compared to Max.
“But, obviously, such an enormous gulf in points difference between the two drivers, he was struggling with that.
“And that then puts more pressure on him, and the harder you try, sometimes the slower you go. And it became almost like a vicious circle for him.
“There were flashes of old form in Azerbaijan, but unfortunately that didn’t translate into points. So, it’s been a hugely frustrating campaign for him.
“And that’s hurt us quite badly in the Constructors’ Championship.”
A Constructors’ Championship thrown away?
Oscar Piastri’s win in Baku saw McLaren overtake Red Bull for the lead in the Constructors’ Championship, something that had looked inevitable since the Woking-based team’s 1-2 in Hungary. Ferrari would also overhaul the Milton Keynes-based squad.
While Verstappen won the Drivers’ Championship by 63 points, Red Bull missed out on the Constructors’ by 77.
Asked directly if Red Bull should have won the Constructors’ Championship if Pérez had delivered better performances, Horner mentioned the mammoth gap between his two drivers.
“Look, I think there’s, should have, could have, would have. When you look back, there’s always hindsight.
“I think McLaren did a great job. At the end of the day, we won more races. We won nine races, had the most poles. We won four Sprint races, which is more than any other team.
“And we won the Drivers’ Championship with two races to go.
“Unfortunately, we had a 285-point deficit between our drivers, and, of course, that became quite expensive in terms of the Constructors’ Championship.”
Racing Bulls never an option for Pérez
Close to 300 starts in F1, Christian Horner confirmed that putting the Mexican in a Racing Bull for 2025 was never talked about or considered.
Isack Hadjar is expected to be promoted into the second seat next year.
“I think at the stage that Checo is at in his career, that wouldn’t really have been an option for him. It was nothing that we really ever discussed or we didn’t discuss or even talk about.
“So, he’s come to this decision now. And obviously, we support it fully.”
Lawson or Tsunoda
As Horner had stated after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Red Bull would be choosing Liam Lawson or Yuki Tsunoda to partner Max Verstappen in 2025.
While Horner says a decision had not been reached, Pit Debrief sources suggest Liam Lawson is the hot favourite to be in the RB21 after making only eleven starts in F1.
“We have all of the information that we need.
“Essentially, it’ll be a choice between Yuki and Liam. And both have got strong credentials.
“We tested Yuki recently at the tyre test in Abu Dhabi for a chance for him to work with the engineering team. Liam has done a lot of testing with us behind the scenes this year as well and has driven very well in the six or seven races that he’s had.
“We have all the information. We’re just looking at and considering all of that, speaking with the engineering team as well, and we’ll come to a conclusion in the coming days.”
Having both cars in the mix
In 2023, Pérez finished 290 points behind teammate Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship, stumbling over the line to finish P2 in a year where Red Bull won every single Grand Prix bar one.
2024 was far more competitive between four teams, and the 285-point gap that separated Verstappen (P1) and Pérez (P8) was even more brutal.
With Pérez having departed, Horner says Red Bull needs both drivers at the front and close on pace as they attempt to make it five straight Drivers’ Championship titles with Max Verstappen next year.
No teammate to the Dutchman gas finished within 100 points of him since Daniel Ricciardo back in 2018 (79).
“Look, the most important thing for us next year and what will be arguably the tightest season in Formula One for many, many years is to make sure that we have two drivers that are performing as closely as possible against [the competition].
“We’re going to have a Hamilton-Leclerc line-up [at Ferrari] next year. We’ve already seen Norris-Piastri [at McLaren], what that is capable of.
“And, of course, George Russell with another newcomer in Antonelli [at Mercedes].
“It’s going to be very tight next year. And so, the decisions that we’ll make, we’ll have that in mind — what is the best line-up that we can field at Oracle Red Bull Racing?”
Deciding against Carlos Sainz
The campaign just finished marked a very strong final season for Carlos Sainz at Scuderia Ferrari. He took two wins in Australia and Mexico, both superb drives for very different reasons.
While he was on the market from February onwards, Red Bull or Mercedes decided against trying to sign him for 2025 and beyond.
Red Bull will promote one of their drivers from Racing Bulls, while Mercedes junior and hot prospect Kimi Antonelli is going to be in the Mercedes. Sainz had to choose Williams in the end.
Back in 2022, Helmut Marko says things got toxic between Verstappen and Sainz during their time together at Toro Rosso in 2015 and early 2016 before the Dutch driver got promoted. At that time, they were only 17/18 and 20/21 respectively.
Nonetheless, Horner’s answer suggests that could have played a factor in overlooking the 4-time Grand Prix winner.
“Look, I think Carlos is a great driver and we’ve seen that obviously this year. [But] sometimes you’ve got to look at all the various criteria and dynamics.
“And at the point that we extended Checo’s contract, you have to remember that he was second in the World Championship and finishing on the podium in the first four out of five races.”
