Report: Red Bull to part ways with Sergio Perez after Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Sergio Perez’s time at Red Bull Racing appears to be over.

According to ESPN, “Red Bull have decided to move on” after this Sunday’s 2024 Formula 1 season finale in Abu Dhabi. Perez failed to finish the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday after he said his car lost forward drive as he attempted to accelerate for a green flag.

Perez has struggled mightily this season and his poor form is why Red Bull is third in the constructor’s standings despite Max Verstappen clinching his fourth consecutive world championship at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Perez is a distant eighth in the standings — the worst performance of any of the drivers among the top four teams — and his point total is less than 40% of Verstappen’s.

Perez, 34, has been at Red Bull since 2021 and has been Verstappen’s teammate for all four of his championships. Perez won five races over his first three seasons with the team and finished fourth, third and second in the standings.

This season he has just four podium finishes and one lap led. His finish in Qatar was the sixth time he’s failed to score points in 23 races.

Perez has also had issues in qualifying. After starting in the top six in each of the first six races, Perez’s qualifying form disappeared as the Red Bull car wasn’t as fast as it had been. Perez has started outside the top 10 in 11 races so far in 2024.

His departure from Red Bull creates intrigue for the second seat alongside Verstappen. The RB junior team fields cars for both Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson as Lawson replaced Daniel Ricciardo during the middle of the season. Williams’ Franco Colapinto has shown speed and has also been mentioned as a possibility to move into the Red Bull family. However, Colapinto’s cars have sustained a lot of crash damage in his brief time in F1 this season.

Perez has driven for Sauber, McLaren and what’s now the Aston Martin team in addition to Red Bull in his F1 career. And a line in the ESPN report raises the possibility that Perez’s F1 career could continue. Cadillac is set to enter F1 in 2026 and Perez is incredibly popular in his native Mexico. Despite his struggles this season, Perez would be a coup for Cadillac in two seasons and would also be a strong marketing asset.