With Red Bull having lost out on the Constructors’ Championship, the entire focus is on Sergio Perez’s future. Several reports have claimed that the Milton Keynes-based outfit will most certainly part ways with him at the end of the 2024 season and the question is more about who will they replace him with.
When Max Verstappen was quizzed about the same in a chat with Viaplay, he refused to comment upon it. “That, of course, isn’t up to me,” he said. “Look, I like to stay out of that”.
The recently crowned four-time champion has his priorities straight — “I just want to make sure that we can get the car to be better, for next year as well”. The Dutchman’s remarks about Perez‘s future are interesting as at the start of the year, reports claimed that it was his camp that were keen on having the 34-year-old stay put in the team.
Q: it kind of looks like the question isn’t if he’s getting replaced, but who is replacing him.
max: “that of course isn’t up to me. look, i like to stay out of that. i just want to make sure that we can get the car to be better, for next year as well.” pic.twitter.com/Z1rtkSrGme
— nini (@SCUDERIAFEMBOY) December 7, 2024
F1 expert Karun Chandhok made this argument at the start of the year when he said, “I think Max and Jos, you know should we call them team Max, quite like having Perez you know. They know where he is, he is sort of safe three-tenths, four-tenths away and it’s relatively peaceful [for Max].”
Red Bull also saw the benefit of retaining Perez in the team because of the lucrative sponsorship deals he helps bring because of his popularity in Latin America. It was for the same reason that Liberty Media also reportedly convinced Red Bull to not sack Perez until his home race in Mexico had concluded this season.
F1 owners requested Red Bull not to sack Perez
There is no denying that Perez’s results have been awful this season. He himself has admitted that 2024 has been a “terrible” season for him as he is going to finish eighth in the drivers’ standings in a campaign when his teammate won the title with two races to spare. Then why has Red Bull not yet parted ways with him if F1 is a result-oriented sport?
The answer is Perez’s fame, which not only is Red Bull well aware of but also F1 owners Liberty Media. Soon after reports claimed that Red Bull had decided to part ways with Perez during the summer break, it were Liberty Media that requested the Milton Keynes-based outfit to reconsider their decision.
“They feared a huge drop in revenue at the Mexican GP on October 27 without national hero Perez,” read a report. However, it seems that Perez’s results have been so disappointing this season that even the financial backing that he brings is not enough to convince Red Bull to retain him.
