Red Bull made waves in F1 back in 2020 when they recruited Sergio Perez to partner up with Max Verstappen. Perez replaced the outgoing Alex Albon and was offered a salary worth $5,000,000 per year. However, the journey to Red Bull was not smooth for the Mexican driver. In an interview, Perez revealed how he came to know about the fact that he would be dropped from his previous team under very hurtful circumstances. Unsurprisingly, this controversy involved Lawrence Stroll, the man who changed the future of Team Silverstone.
Perez was dropped by Racing Point, now branded Aston Martin, at the end of the 2020 season. Stroll wanted four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel to replace him and was ready to sacrifice a loyal servant in Perez, to turn that dream into reality.
A winner at Racing Point and Red Bull 🏆
His win at Baku means Perez is the first driver to win with 2️⃣ different teams in the Hybrid era of F1 👏
#F1 #AzerbaijanGP #Motorsport pic.twitter.com/r7QjsXj809— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) June 8, 2021
Perez had conjured up six podiums throughout his stint in Silverstone. He also managed to win a race at the very end of the 2020 season in Bahrain, establishing the fact that he is capable of producing results when given the right machinery. However, it wasn’t enough for him to keep his place in the team.
Perez also revealed that he didn’t have a seat for 2021, and his F1 future seemed to be up in the air. However, Red Bull came to his rescue, by hiring him as Verstappen’s teammate. The ending of this saga was sweet, but Perez got to know about his exit from Racing Point in an extremely disrespectful manner.
Sergio Perez overheard Lawrence Stroll talking on the phone
Sergio Perez came to know about his fate at Racing Point under very weird circumstances. As quoted by RaceFans, Perez admitted to Sky F1 that he got to know that he would be dropped from the team when he overheard Lawrence Stroll talking on the phone during the Italian GP weekend in Monza in 2020. Stroll was apparently talking to the team lawyer, instructing him to prepare the necessary paperwork for signing Sebastian Vettel.
Perez ha confermato che ha appresso la notizia del suo addio al team sentendo Lawrence Stroll parlare al telefono mentre si trovava nel motorhome a Monza, non gli è stato detto direttamente #F1
— Gianluca D’Alessandro (@Gianludale27) November 30, 2020
A few days later, Stroll finally informed Perez about his decision. Perez said, “Nobody told me anything. But I already knew and figured out a couple of things.”
It is believed that Perez was dropped from the team as part of the restructuring process that Stroll wanted the team to go through. They were changing their name to Aston Martin, and wanted a world champion driver to lead the project. However, Perez was quite evidently hurt by the team’s move, considering the fact that he stood by them in difficult times.
Perez facing tough times at Red Bull
Things turned around for Perez once Red Bull decided to give him a chance. The Guadalajara-born driver fulfilled their expectations by playing wingman to Verstappen during his maiden title pursuit. He played a crucial role during Verstappen’s 2021 championship win, but things started going downhill since then.
Perez failed to match Verstappen in any front last season, and is being comprehensively outperformed this time too. This has led to widespread speculation that Perez might be dropped from the team, with hordes of other drivers waiting to pounce on his seat.
PEREZ IS OUT OF QUALIFYING#F1 #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/65E4n1gbBH
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) July 8, 2023
As of now, Perez is on a horrible run of form, failing to reach Q3 five times in a row, in a car that has dominated the field completely. He is under immense pressure, and has to step up, in order to save his seat at Red Bull.s
