The end seems near for Perez: even Horner won't defend Checo anymore

Throughout 2024 Christian Horner remained fully behind Sergio Perez. No matter how often the Mexican performed disappointingly in qualifying or the race, Horner was always there to defend him. In Qatar, however, Horner also seemed to run out of steam. After an unusual start to the sprint race and a spin behind the safety car in the Grand Prix, Horner could not point to anything but Perez as the culprit either.

Indeed, while Perez stubbornly insisted he was ahead of Franco Colapinto at the start of the sprint race, that was far from Red Bull's plan: ''We sent him to the end of the pit lane seven minutes before Colapinto for a reason.....'' The message was clear: Perez had simply been asleep in the pitlane and did not need to leave Colapinto ahead of the test at all.

What followed was praise for Perez's achievements for Red Bull, but what stood out was that Horner was talking about Perez in past tense. Almost like he spoke about a driver who no longer drives for Red Bull. ''Checo has contributed a huge amount to this team in the four years that he's been here. He's won five Grands Prix for us. He's had some outstanding performances in races like Singapore, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, to name a few. Everybody holds Checo in the highest of regard and respect, but the situation that we're in is as painful for him as it is for the team.''

Who should replace Perez at Red Bull Racing?

Not only did Horner speak about his driver in the past tense, Horner also talked about supporting Perez all the way to the checkered flag in Abu Dhabi. Very specific wording, for a driver who has a 2025 contract at Red Bull Racing. Horner repeatedly stated that he would let Perez come to his own conclusions. In other words, a friendly request from Horner for Perez to announce his retirement himself.

Should Perez not come to that decision himself, Horner will have to tie the knot, possibly also putting a hefty sum of money on the table. In addition, there is then the question of who will be Perez's successor?

Franco Colapinto has been linked with Red Bull on several occasions and is a driver Horner is definitely keeping an eye on: ''It is definitely a talent looking for a permanent place in Formula 1. However, we have a great pool of talent with the Red Bull Junior Team. I'm sure Franco will find his way to the grid in the future.''

''You always keep an eye on who is on the market in all the teams. However, we have the strength of our junior programm. It was also good to see Isack Hadjar perform well in Formula 2 today (second in the main race). Liam and Yuki were also very close today in terms of race pace. We have a lot of drivers in our racing stable.''

More and more it seems that Max Verstappen will have a new teammate in 2025, but for everyone it is still a big question who? From race to race it differs who has the best chance. Helmut Marko knew one thing for sure: there is no one outside the Red Bull team better than the drivers Red Bull already has. In other words, Marko would choose Lawson or Tsunoda and not Colapinto.