Red Bull team principal Christian Horner suggested Sergio Perez may choose not to remain at the team next year after another point-less race in Qatar.
Perez spun out of the race on the 39th lap as the field prepared to restart. It was the seventh time this year he has failed to score in a grand prix.Despite signing a contract extension with Red Bull earlier this year, following a promising start to the season, Perez has been dogged by questions over his future as his performance slumped in subsequent races. While Max Verstappen clinched the drivers’ championship a week ago in Las Vegas, Red Bull dropped out of contention for the constructors’ championship today, Perez having contributed just 26% of their points.
Speaking after today’s race Horner said Perez is not happy with his current performance and his future lies in his hands.
“Checo has been a wonderful driver for us, certainly in ’21, ’22, ’23,” he told Sky. “He contributed to Max’s championship, obviously in ’21, constructors championships in ’22, ’23. And most of all, he’s a great guy.
“He’s not enjoying the situation that he’s in at the moment. He knows the pressures of this business. We’re going to give him all the support that we can to the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi next weekend. And what he decides to do, that will be his decision at the end of the day.”
On Thursday Perez denied Red Bull management could demote him to their second team, RB. He has repeatedly insisted he will continue to drive for Red Bull in the future.
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But Horner indicated Perez is considering his future. “He’s old enough and wise enough to come to his own conclusions,” he said. “But there’s still a race to go and let’s get to the end of Abu Dhabi and then and then see where we’re at.”
Perez said he spun out today’s race as his engine delivered too much power when he accelerated prior to a restart. “Things were looking good at the time for me,” he said, “I was sitting in P5 and we were in the mix for the podium.
“Then as I was warming up the tyre, getting ready for the restart, I had a massive over-delivery as I was picking up the throttle out of turn 12. With cold tyres I couldn’t control it, it basically meant I lost the car and then lost drive from that point onwards.”
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2024 Qatar Grand Prix
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RH
1st December 2024, 22:21
He’s getting sacked into retirement.
SPArtacus
1st December 2024, 22:23
Sure it will… Nope, guy is gone.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
2nd December 2024, 1:06
don’t count on it.
The real problem is Perez might be doing a lot of donkey work for Max, and think hes entitled for another season, when all we can see is him racing poorly.
His convo at the end of the sprint race seemed to imply he was doing work for setup only during that race. The problem with being too nice, is people feel entitled to take advantage of you, and thats when people get real nasty, vindictive and vile when you upset that apple cart; also conversely when you feel hard done by, like Checo 1+ year ago after the clan incident, it’s hard to let go of that as well, so in reality, the guy has been playing the wrong game, i believe, and he should get as much money from that team and run … run … run away.
It’s clear Max has a ‘toxic’ grip on the team, just like other #1’s in other racing categories or the same, Checo should race for himself and play the victim, and get as much money as he can and invest it in his family + real assets.
This really is a story of entitlement, problem is I don’t really blame checo completely because of the way he never really had a chance to beat his teammate, politically.
ludewig
2nd December 2024, 13:02
@pcxmac
Checo doesn’t have a chance to beat Max because he is not good enough, not because of politics. At most you can argue that the car is built for Max’ driving style and that Checo is not good enough to drive that way, but it’s not politics for a team to design their car to the wishes of their best driver. That’s what any team will do naturally.
Deep Sky
2nd December 2024, 16:44
Remind me again please what’s the clan incident.
DaveW (@dmw)
1st December 2024, 22:32
He’s being promoted to Red Bull customer. Hate to see it go like this but man can’t take a hint.
PeteB (@peteb)
1st December 2024, 22:45
Reads to me like he’s getting demoted to RB. Why else would he have a decision to make? He already said he’s definitely staying at Red Bull earlier in the week and he’s got a contract…
Doh
1st December 2024, 23:24
Sounds like its his decision to either retire or stay at rbr. Which much mean he has something in his contract. No wonder he was so confident he’s staying
Jere (@jerejj)
2nd December 2024, 6:27
@peteb He’s only been referring to Red Bull Racing & the B-team isn’t for him in any case, i.e., its pairing will either remain unchanged or be TSU/LAW-HAD, depending on which one would get promoted to the main team, not to mention zero benefits in his career situation, especially as he wouldn’t receive another chance in the main team anymore, which has always been the case with demotions, so either Red Bull Racing as contracted & confirmed back in June or nothing.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
2nd December 2024, 9:31
It’s not like Yuki is getting promoted, and it’s not like Colapinto is any better than Lawson. Its also not like Max will accept anyone that could threaten him, even with the team wrapped around his finger.
He very well might be there next year. The only problem is he’s getting the same treatment as Hamilton it seems, and if they have any chance of not finishing first, Perez will suffer. Simple as that.
stefano (@alfa145)
1st December 2024, 23:08
there you go, confirmation that he is done. Lawson will likely start the season for Red Bull, so a vacant place at RB will open in the winter
Dex
1st December 2024, 23:45
I hope they’ll manage to surprise us somehow and bring in someone better than Lawson. Tsunoda would be better, if nothing else.
Tommy C (@tommy-c)
1st December 2024, 23:26
Perez has had a solid F1 career. If Abu Dhabi is to be his last race, please be certain beforehand so he can be farewelled properly. They already messed up with Daniel. I think Sergio should go but I would hate for it to be announced over the winter.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
2nd December 2024, 1:21
I read afterwards that it was ricciardo’s decision to not announce retirement till after the race.
Coventry Climax
2nd December 2024, 9:28
Solid F1 career?
A brick is solid to, but it won’t float.
We’ve had one single driver so far, quite some time ago, who notoriously claimed he had ‘too much grip’.
Now Checo has joined him in that league, claiming ‘too much power’.
Chris Horton
3rd December 2024, 9:43
I’m struggling with your confusion.
I think you’re choosing not to understand the concept of an over delivery of power.
Coventry Climax
3rd December 2024, 11:10
I think you are choosing to not understand the concept of a -or actually yet another- lame excuse.
XV
2nd December 2024, 0:27
Horner, after the sprint race: “When the light goes out, you’re supposed to go.”
Horner, after the main race: “Please, just go.”
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
2nd December 2024, 1:26
This could also read like they’re sabotaging him, sometimes sending him out so late, like in brazil, that he can’t set a lap before the chequered flag, in order to maximise his humilation, so if he wants to continue like this for another season it’s up to him, otherwise they will take tsunoda\lawson!
Or also the car losing power here when he was in a good position, how often does it happen nowadays?
Perez has been driving terribly, but sometimes you need to be a bit suspicious, as otherwise, why would you say it’s his decision? Normally a super-underperforming driver simply gets fired.
The Dolphins
2nd December 2024, 4:29
His decision? What options has he been given: drive for RB, reserve for RBR, or exit?
Jere (@jerejj)
2nd December 2024, 6:27
Only exit alongside continuing at RBR as confirmed.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
2nd December 2024, 5:16
“we don’t want to pay anything to break that contract” is what I read from this.
Deep Sky
2nd December 2024, 16:47
That’s what it sounds like really.
MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
2nd December 2024, 5:54
We all know drivers are excluded from the cost cap- does that also apply to paying them off, though?
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
2nd December 2024, 6:23
Good question. I don’t know but if I had to guess I would think any payoffs are also exempt. They’re attached to the drivers contract / salary and it’s just essentially paying them early to cancel it.
But Checo doesn’t have one simple contract, there’s a lot of commercial ones attached to him which are relevant to the cost cap. Though I’m sure the Red Bull legal team did consider ‘we might need to sack him in a couple of months’ when they signed, it’s possible that right now, it’s too complicated to get rid of him and Christian is hoping he’ll jump of his own volition.
Jere (@jerejj)
2nd December 2024, 6:30
Somewhat contradictory since Marko said that a Red Bull shareholder meeting after the season would determine his fate, but if departure can only happen via his voluntary decision, he’d most likely stay & continue costing the team next season’s WCC as well.
notagrumpyfan
2nd December 2024, 14:39
That’s not what I read from Horner’s quotes.
Horner explicitly says that they are “going to give him all the support that (they) can to the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi next weekend.” And also: “there’s still a race to go and let’s get to the end of Abu Dhabi and then see where we’re at.”
No mention of, let alone commitment for, next year (or even next Monday).
They probably have already drafted a communication for staff notification board with the words ‘decided to pursue his career somewhere else’. ;)
SteveP
2nd December 2024, 19:12
That was my reading of what Horner didn’t say, and with Horner it’s best to read many times and note how what was not said and how that affects what was said.
Like “going to give him all the support that (they) can to the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi next weekend. After that, probably dropped like a hot brick.
I’m starting to develop sympathy for Perez.
Paul
2nd December 2024, 7:38
The decision for Sergio to make, Retire or Be Fired.
Dan Rooke (@geekzilla9000)
2nd December 2024, 8:08
Ooof, I’ve seen many people in the cold corporate world “choose to leave” – which is just euphemism for being fired, but given the option of pushing the button yourself before it happens.
I’m sure not long after the final race we’ll see a press release from Perez saying that he’s “chosen to seek new challenges” or “spend time with the family” or whatever typical phraseology he chooses to put out.
When a boss publicly announces about a member of high profile staff that it’s up to them if they stay or go, it’s more of a nudge than anything else. Perez was an exciting driver to watch at Force India and I was so pleased he got the Red Bull seat. He’s had moments to shine, but most of his time has been spent in the shadow of Max Verstappen. At least Perez will be afforded the dignity of saying it was his own decision.
ludewig
2nd December 2024, 13:09
@geekzilla9000
Like other people say, the question is whether they are willing to pay the price to break the contract. Horner seems to be saying: “We don’t want you anymore, but we also don’t want to give you the severance fee, but do you really want to keep destroying your reputation like this?”
Le Jimster (@lejimster82)
2nd December 2024, 8:37
I have no idea why they just don’t come out and say the obvious. Everyone including Checo knows he’s done driving for that team. It’s pretty much identical to what they were saying about Ricciardo.
His only chance was to start scoring good points and help them in the constructors, but they will finish 3rd now.
MichaelN
2nd December 2024, 8:56
The contract must be very restrictive, and the potential financial fallout considerable.
Horner isn’t exactly known for having qualms about dumping people that no longer serve his purposes.
An Sionnach
2nd December 2024, 9:14
This weekend was a bit of a shocker for him, but he deserves gratitude from the team for using the sprint as a test season. This was an inspired decision; I’m not sure why it hasn’t been done now often where a team’s troubles are down to lack of preparation time on a sprint weekend.
Coventry Climax
2nd December 2024, 9:43
I get the sentiment, even agree to an extent, but on the other hand, to be honest, it’s probably out of place in the world of F1.
The deserved gratitude cannot and should not last for yet another season of degrading performance, lost points and potentially lead to another lost title.
As for your second suggestion, ever since the very first small prix was forced down our throats, there’s drivers saying they’ll use it as yet another test session. That is why F1 increased the points to gain.
Then secondly, we’ve had parc fermé conditions until a while ago; now that that’s changed, seems to me it’s more of a no brainer than an inspired decision actually.
Leo B
2nd December 2024, 11:24
The Team Principal is paid to make these decisions. He should not delegate them to the driver to for him to decide instead.
notagrumpyfan
2nd December 2024, 11:49
He might try stand-up comedy ;)
Coventry Climax
2nd December 2024, 14:19
Ha, but to be honest, would you go and buy a ticket to his show?
To then find out that he needs so many words that even the flow of his show it is quite slow.