Sergio Perez has been at the receiving end of a lot of scrutiny over his abysmal form in 2024. The same trend continued at the Qatar GP weekend where the Mexican driver suffered another Q1 exit, this time in sprint qualifying.
Perez‘s poor results of late have increased the pressure on him and there is growing uncertainty around his future at Red Bull. Amid this, Jason Plato has taken a sarcastic dig at the six-time Grand Prix winner, calling for his sacking from F1.
“Perez should throw in the towel and depart with dignity. Make way for some young blood. IndyCar, SportsCars, GTs, Touring cars, and village egg spoon races would without doubt welcome him“, the Veteran GT racer said.
Plato’s alternative racing suggestions were rather decent as IndyCar and GT would love an experienced pair of hands like Perez’s. However, the ‘egg-spoon race’ suggestion was a dig at the 34-year-old’s awful results over the last few months.
Perez should throw in the towel and depart with dignity.
Make way for some young blood.
IndyCar, SportsCars, GTs, Touring cars, and village egg spoon races would, without doubt, welcome him— Jason Plato (@jasonplato) November 30, 2024
Whether Perez will seriously consider leaving F1 or not remains unknown, but he could do with a change of scenery for certain. F1 seems to be done with the Guadalajara-born driver, with the gap to his teammate Max Verstappen too big to ignore. With no podiums since the Chinese GP in April, Perez clearly doesn’t deserve a seat on merit.
Perez was seven-tenths of a second slower than Verstappen in Qatar, losing time in the first corner itself while fighting for track position with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. On top of that, Perez’s car had to undergo changes that also forced him to take a pitlane start for the sprint race on Saturday.
Perez’s fate seems dodgy despite confident claims
Perez has a contract for 2025, which he has leaned on while insisting that he will remain a Red Bull driver. However, the team’s top brass doesn’t sound too confident. Both Team Principal Christian Horner and advisor Helmut Marko have stated that their driver lineup will be evaluated after the Abu Dhabi season finale in a week.
Perez’s performances have cost Red Bull severely in the Constructors’ Championship this season, where they will finish P3, behind McLaren and Ferrari.
It will also hurt their prize money, which means Red Bull will not be able to pay bonuses to their employees. So, despite what Perez says, Red Bull may hand him the pink slip ahead of the next campaign.
However, Perez’s F1 career may not be over, even if Red Bull lets him go. There is a chance that he could secure a seat at the upcoming Cadillac team, who could use a veteran like Perez to their advantage during their foundation years.
