Sergio Perez has had a season to forget in 2024. The Red Bull driver has been lagging behind his teammate, Max Verstappen all throughout the year. Now, his latest result in qualifying for the 2024 Las Vegas GP has earned him an unsavory record that he would be keen to shrug off.
The Mexican racing ace was knocked out in Q1 — racking his tally of Q1 eliminations to six for the season. That said, there are more sinister undertones to this statistic. In fact, Perez‘s total Q1 eliminations in 2024 are just as much as the sum totals for three F1 teams combined.
Looking at the sharp end of the field (where Perez himself should compete), McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes themselves have had six Q1 eliminations in total.
Speaking of qualifying, the #11 driver will start the Grand Prix on Saturday from 16th on the grid, once again starting in the bottom five of the grid this season. He has been out-qualified by both the sister RB cars and Verstappen.
Sergio Perez has as many Q1 eliminations as McLaren, Ferrari & Mercedes combined this season.
Q1 eliminations
Perez – 6
McLaren, Ferrari & Mercedes – 6Insane stat. pic.twitter.com/KhPWLzqCvd
— Daniel Valente ️ (@F1GuyDan) November 23, 2024
And while the Dutchman will be looking to wrap up his fourth consecutive title tomorrow, Red Bull’s Constructors’ title ambitions have taken a serious hit after Perez’s Q1 elimination in Vegas. The Bulls sit 49 points away from McLaren in third in the standings.
Perez has cost Red Bull more than just money this season
Perez’s lack of form this season has allowed the likes of McLaren and Ferrari to jump the Milton Keynes-based outfit in the standings. This means that for the first time since 2021, the Bulls might not walk away with the Constructors’ crown.
Moreover, Perez has also caused a lot of pain for the mechanics with his bevy of shunts throughout the year. With his most expensive one coming at the Monaco GP, the #11 driver leads the Destructors’ Championship with an eye-watering repair bill of $4,861,000.
That said, it isn’t just money that Perez has been costing the Bulls. In the cost cap era, Red Bull could, slowly but surely, be losing their dominant grip on the grid. With 2025 and 2026 posing a developmental conundrum in terms of resource allocation, are we seeing the decline of F1’s most dominant dynasty?
