Sergio Perez has been having a nightmare season, with the Mexican driver running out of excuses to cover up for his abysmal on-track performances. He has been given ample time, and Red Bull even showed faith in him by extending his contract earlier this season. Unfortunately, Perez has simply not improved, and David Coulthard believes his time is almost up.
Red Bull signed Liam Lawson for RB—Red Bull’s sister team—earlier this season. According to Coulthard, it is because the Milton-Keynes-based team is evaluating his performances, hoping to land an ideal Perez replacement.
Lawson already made his season debut at the US GP last weekend, where he finished P9 — the same race where Perez disappointed once again. What irked Coulthard the most was that George Russell finished ahead (P6) of the Mexican driver (P7) despite starting from the pitlane. “That is another weak performance,” claimed the ex-Red Bull driver on the Formula for Success podcast.
“His results simply do not come close to Max’s results,” Coulthard added. “So I assume that Red Bull assesses Liam Lawson. If he continues to deliver, he may go to Red Bull Racing“.
“He is several steps above Sergio Perez.”
Kiwi motorsport royal Greg Murphy has one question – why did it take Red Bull so long to promote Liam Lawson? pic.twitter.com/i1lpSwzraW
— SENZ (@SENZ_Radio) October 22, 2024
There has been a huge disparity in results between Max Verstappen and Perez, not just in 2024 but also last year. During Verstappen’s record-breaking 19-win season, his teammate won just twice.
2024 has been worse. Compared to Verstappen’s seven victories, Perez has a grand total of zero. To put things into perspective, the Guadalajara-born has just 150 points and is in P8 in the Championship standings, a staggering 154 points behind the leader Verstappen. Yes, Red Bull has struggled with performance, but Verstappen has dealt with the difficulties much better than Perez has.
With effectively just one driver delivering, Red Bull is also at risk of losing P2 in the Championship to Ferrari who are just eight points behind heading into the Mexico City GP, which is why the Red Bull bosses would be looking at themselves, contemplating major changes.
It is too late for them to make major amends in 2024 to make up for lost points. However, if Lawson performs well for RB, they could sign him up for Red Bull in 2025 to have a stronger chance of winning the title.
