Red Bull made its worst-kept secret official earlier this week when they announced the sacking of Sergio Perez. Days before, however, several media houses including Sky Sports had already confirmed this news.
Perez’s removal was not entirely unexpected, much like the drop in followers across Red Bull’s social media channels. The 34-year-old is undoubtedly one of the most popular drivers on the grid, boasting a substantial fan base in Mexico and Latin America.
According to a post on the Formula 1 subreddit, Red Bull has already lost 200,000 followers on their Instagram account since announcing Perez‘s sacking. The post also mentions that the decline in followers continues as of December 19, when the Milton-Keynes-based squad announced Liam Lawson as his replacement.
Red Bull Racing has lost over 200K Instagram followers since announcing the departure of Perez#F1 pic.twitter.com/WSw1VpR9rL
— r/Formula1 (@F1Subreddit) December 19, 2024
Perez’s sacking may not come as a surprise to most fans, given his significant underperformance compared to his Red Bull teammate, Max Verstappen. Over the past two seasons, the Dutchman has secured two championships and claimed an impressive 28 victories—19 in 2023 and 9 in 2024. In stark contrast, Perez has managed just two wins, with both coming in 2023.
Fans furious with Red Bull signing Lawson over Yuki Tsunoda
Fans have expressed their frustrations with Red Bull ignoring Tsunoda again despite him having outperformed Lawson.
“Apart from the fact that Yuki Tsunoda deserves a chance they forgot what happened the last time they put unexperienced drivers in that position,” a fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Red Bull have learned absolutely nothing. Apart from the fact that Yuki Tsunoda deserves a chance they forgot what happened the last time they put unexperienced drivers in that position. https://t.co/BQWCfxsIW3
— Stefanie (@fastpitstop) December 19, 2024
Similarly, F1 content creator Tom Bellingham, who has interviewed several drivers in the past, expressed his confusion over Red Bull’s decision. In a lengthy post, he explained how it appears that Red Bull has been overlooking Yuki Tsunoda.
According to Bellingham, Red Bull brought in both Liam Lawson and Daniel Ricciardo to benchmark their performances against Tsunoda. Now that the Japanese driver has outperformed them both, Bellingham finds it puzzling that Lawson has been chosen for the second Red Bull seat alongside Verstappen.
Yuki ends De Vries’s F1 career
Ricciardo was brought in as a potential Red Bull driver if he beats Yuki
Yuki beats Ricciardo
Lawson was brought in as a potential Red Bull driver if he beats Yuki
Yuki 6-0s Lawson in qualifying
Lawson gets the Red Bull seat
— Tom Bellingham (@TomP1Bellingham) December 19, 2024
Red Bull’s decision does seem peculiar, given that Tsunoda has shown consistent growth and now boasts over four years of F1 experience. In stark contrast, Lawson has yet to complete a full F1 season. This disparity could also be a contributing factor to the continued drop in Red Bull’s social media followers.
