Even Perez admitted this could be the end for him at Red Bull Racing

A Sergio Perez departure already seemed imminent in the summer break, but then Checo was allowed to keep his seat. Christian Horner hoped Perez could repay the trust at circuits where he has performed well more often in the past. Perez failed to do so. Since the summer break, Perez's highest score was eight points at Zandvoort, after that first race Perez only scored 13 points in total.

Perez's qualifying was a particular problem. Frequently being eliminated in Q1 or Q2, he had to start the race from the back and always relied on a catch-up race. This was increasingly unsuccessful with a car that was getting weaker relative to the competition. Perez scored only two points in the last five Grands Prix.

Perez seems to knows the end is near

After the race, Perez opened up for the first time in weeks. Until then, Perez had maintained for months that he has a contract for 2025 and that he was 100% sure he would race in 2025. After the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Perez reiterated that he has a contract for 2025, but also stated that things could change in the coming days.

Something that had been obvious to the outside world for much longer was now acknowledged by Perez: his fate is in the hands of Red Bull. The team will hold a meeting with Perez after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, after which Red Bull's shareholders will meet to decide on 2025. The seat next to Max Verstappen is a talking point.

Red Bull had hoped that Perez might see for himself that it was time to retire, maybe taking on a role as ambassador, but Perez does not seem to want to comply. A clear 'no' was sounded from Perez when he was asked that question, with the Mexican talking about an "agreement that is good for both parties". In other words, if Red Bull wants to get rid of Perez, it will probably have to pay Perez as compensation.

Christian Horner had clearly resolved not to say anything new about the whole situation. As in Qatar, Horner again mentioned Perez's merits for the team in recent years and the fact that he still has a contract for next season.

Verstappen stands up for Perez

There was one striking statement from Horner about McLaren. The Red Bull Racing team boss stated that McLaren had a big advantage in that it had two drivers who scored points, two drivers who won races and a duo who regularly got on the front row together. Freely translated, Red Bull did not have that because of Perez. Red Bull won nine races to McLaren's six. At Red Bull, however, it was Verstappen every time, where McLaren regularly had two drivers scoring good points.

Verstappen still had words of praise for his current teammate, though. ''It's rare to have a teammate like him. He has always been very nice'', Verstappen stated after the race. Verstappen therefore had sympathy for his teammate, as the RB20 has been far from a good car in parts of 2024.

Laudatory words from Verstappen, but that is the man who did manage to squeeze performance out of the RB20. With the same car, Verstappen became world champion and scored almost three times as many points as Perez. That difference is too big when driving the same material. That is why talks will follow after Abu Dhabi and why Red Bull will most likely be forced to make a change.