With Sergio Perez’s dwindling performances, one of the aspects that still push Red Bull to retain him is the millions of dollars in sponsorship he brings. That said, with the Constructors’ championship having slipped away from them this season, the Milton-Keynes based outfit are keen to make amends and replace him. While both, Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto have been touted to take the Mexican’s place, the latter has a key advantage over his rivals.
ESPN’s Nate Saunders explained that the buzz around Colapinto has been phenomenal — ever since his debut at the 2024 Italian GP. With the South American populace keen to back a driver of their own, Saunders is of the opinion that the Argentine could replace what Perez brings to the table.
“There’s so much interest from South America that’s coming in…[and] that’s a really untapped market at the moment. The excitement for Colapinto is genuinely incredible,” he said on the F1 Unlapped podcast while making a case for the 21-year-old to enter the Red Bull family.
Building on the popularity of the new driver Franco Colapinto, sponsor Mercado Libre took over the airbox for the 2024 Mexican and Brazilian Grands Prix in a design that harked back to classic Williams colours. pic.twitter.com/9KoL81mh4t
— Williams Database (@WilliamsdbF1) October 30, 2024
On the other hand, despite his lack of performance, Perez is still the main revenue generator for the Bulls. He has the highest number of merchandise sales as well as a portfolio of really important and rich backers.
But Colapinto, who currently isn’t at Perez’s level, commercially speaking, has already started making moves in the paddock. His flurry of points finishes for Williams and his overall personality have seen many sponsors wanting to hitch their wagon to his star.
Are Perez’s backers defecting to Colapinto’s side?
The Argentine driver has already secured a bevy of sponsors to back his time in the sport. While he does not have a confirmed seat for 2025, that could all change with the moves being made behind the scenes.
Most recently, the Argentinian arm of Uber started sponsoring the Williams driver. But more interestingly, Perez’s own biggest backer, Carlos Slim has started sponsoring Colapinto.
This could have a massive impact on the driver situation at Red Bull. Slim seems to have quite a lot of pull when it comes to decisions at the team and he could lobby for Colapinto to get a seat. If that is the case then Liam Lawson will have to spend at least another year at RB alongside Yuki Tsunoda.
