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One last chance for Perez in Mexico to prove Horner right
During the summer break, Red Bull Racing decided to stick with Sergio Perez. However, in the five Grands Prix since, Perez has still failed to convince. Is the Mexican Grand Prix Perez's last chance to prove Christian Horner right?
In 2023, Sergio Perez finished second in the drivers' standings after narrowly missed out in 2022. An achievement that was largely due to Red Bull Racing's car. After all, Max Verstappen had been proving for years that Red Bull had built the best car, but he contributed himself to that dominance.
Perez did finish second, but the gap to Verstappen was huge. Perez's seat has never been unchallenged since he was signed in 2021, mostly because he was mostly far behind Verstappen in qualifying and the race. In 2022 and 2023, this was less noticeable due to the dominance of the Red Bull car; in 2024, it suddenly stood out again as the field got closer together.
Perez's last podium finish dates back to April. During the phase when Red Bull was still dominating and Verstappen was taking win after win, Perez finished third behind Lando Norris in China. Since then, Perez has finished fourth once more and otherwise mostly crossed the finish line in sixth position or even lower.
Why did Horner stick with Perez
Before the summer break, many were calling for Perez to be replaced by Red Bull Racing, but the Mexican was retained by Christian Horner. The Red Bull Racing team principal revealed at the factory that they want to continue with Perez. Horner especially pointed to Grands Prix left on the calendar where the Mexican could previously perform and underlined that confidence in the Mexican would pay off.
Since those five Grands Prix after the summer break, Perez is yet to fulfil that promise. Red Bull Racing even lost the lead in the world championship. While Max Verstappen was fighting to maintain his lead in the drivers' championship, Perez cost his team the lead in the constructors' championship. A 42-point lead after the summer break vanished completely. After the US Grand Prix, Red Bull are second, 40 points behind McLaren and only eight points ahead of Ferrari.
Consequently, there is no question of 'good performances' on 'his circuits'. The only time Perez did excel was in Baku. However, fitting the pattern, Perez could not finish the race after crashing with Carlos Sainz. A good weekend ultimately yielded zero points.
On the other weekends, Perez's performance was downright disappointing for a driver whose confidence should have been boosted. At Zandvoort, Perez was four tenths slower in qualifying than Verstappen, at a track where a lap is approximately 70 seconds. In the race, the two Ferrari drivers and Oscar Piastri finished between Verstappen and Perez.
Last chance for Perez in Mexico
At Monza, Perez was close to Verstappen, but again scored fewer points. In Singapore, on a street circuit where Perez should make the difference, the Mexican disappointed again. After the poor end of the race in Baku, Perez did not get out of Q2. His time in Q2 was almost a second slower than his teammate's. In the race, Perez crossed the line in P10, while Verstappen finished second.
In the United States, things went wrong again for Sergio Perez. In sprint qualifying, Perez failed to score points as he once again got eliminated before SQ3. Again, over one lap, he was almost a second slower than Max, who started the sprint race from pole position and won the event. On Saturday, Perez did not get beyond P10. The Mexican's first lap was deleted for track limits, leaving him with no time to spare as Russell ended the session with a crash into the wall. In the race, Perez finished in P7, after he was overtaken by the same George Russell. The Briton started that race from the pit lane.
In Mexico, in front of all his own fans, Perez really needs to be able to show what he's got now. His seat is under pressure, with Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda being serious contenders for the seat next to Max Verstappen in 2025. Perez has failed to deliver and sits in a distressing eighth position in the world championship, while his teammate is on his way to the world title with the same RB20. The difference is as bizarre as it is painful: 354 to 150.
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