Mika Hakkinen after making an impressive prediction for McLaren earlier this year has come out to make yet another prediction. And this time, as per his video for Unibet, he picks Sergio Perez’s tarot card. According to the former world champion, the Mexican race driver has a slim possibility of continuing his career at Red Bull, especially when he is failing to be even near the level of Max Verstappen’s performances.
“I know that having a Mexican driver in the team is important for Red Bull. Mexico is a big market. But in the end, if there is to compete and bring results, you need to have two drivers of a certain level to develop the car. Is there a future for Perez at Red Bull? I think it’s very unlikely,” said Hakkinen.
Perez had a very inconsistent season in 2023. Since he had a promising start to the campaign with two wins after the first four races, it seemed like a title battle between the Red Bull teammates was on the cards.
However, Verstappen obliterated every opposition that stood his way towards the championship. On the other hand, Perez’s performance also dipped drastically. He failed to appear nine times in the Q3 of qualifying rounds this year, five of which came in a row from Monaco to the British Grand Prix.
Therefore, there was a huge gap between the two drivers in 2023, which is also symbolized by the points table as Verstappen (575) finished with more than double Perez’s points (285). For a significant amount of period, Perez even risked losing his P2 in the championship standings to Lewis Hamilton.
This situation even propelled reports of Perez losing his seat. Although Red Bull shunned the narrative, the future of the 33-year-old continues to hang in the balance.
Sergio Perez can’t be guaranteed a seat in 2025
Once Sergio Perez wrapped the P2 in the standings, his exit rumors died down. However, 2024 would be way different for Perez than this year. Since the grid is likely to be more competitive, Red Bull will need consistent results to assert their dominance.
So, Perez couldn’t afford to repeat his 2023 season and expect Red Bull to not do anything about it. Moreover, his current contract with the team is also coming to an end at the end of 2024. Therefore, he would need to present a stronger case for the Milton Keynes outfit to extend his stay for the 2025 season and beyond.
The only saving grace for Perez would be if Red Bull fails to spot a suitable replacement. It’s certainly not easy to be teammates with Verstappen, and Perez’s predecessors are the right testaments for that. So, it all depends on whether anyone else is prepared to be in the league of the current world champion.
It also depends on how well AlphaTauri drivers perform, especially Daniel Ricciardo. For a while, he has been spotted as the most suitable replacement. However, he has yet to make a stronger case for Red Bull to consider him for a promotion.
