Sergio Perez’s horror 2024 season continued last weekend at the Las Vegas GP. Suffering his sixth Q1 exit, the #11 driver all but confirmed Red Bull’s elimination from the Constructors’ title battle against the likes of McLaren and Ferrari.
After the race, speculation only grew about Perez’s future with the Bulls and a possible replacement for him next season. Amid this, a statistic has emerged that makes a compelling case for Yuki Tsunoda to be placed alongside Max Verstappen in the RB21 in 2025.
While there are many contenders for Perez’s seat next year, Tsunoda seems to trump them all in terms of experience and performance. Over the last five races, while Perez has only been able to muster an average grid position of 14, the young Japanese driver averages at a stellar P8.
Average Qualifying Position Over Last 5 Races:
Yuki Tsunoda: 8.00
Sergio Perez: 14.00Average Qualifying Position Since The Summer Break:
Yuki Tsunoda – 10.13
Sergio Perez – 10.88VCARB outperforming a Red Bull. Would love to see what Yuki can do as Max Verstappen’s teammate. pic.twitter.com/IAIVjwukTw
— Daniel Valente ️ (@F1GuyDan) November 28, 2024
This trend has continued since the summer break. Bear in mind, though, that the RB car that Tsunoda has been outperforming Perez with is massively disadvantaged as against a Red Bull in terms of out-and-out performance.
That said, Red Bull are yet to make a concrete decision about their driver lineup yet. Team advisor, Helmut Marko, whilst acknowledging Perez’s dwindling form revealed that a final call will be made after the season finale at the Abu Dhabi GP.
Tsunoda blames politics for Red Bull snub
It seems that for the last two years, the Milton Keynes-based outfit have been overlooking the #22 driver for a seat at the main team. Tsunoda himself believes that he has done everything required to get that shot.
PlanetF1 quoted him as saying, “I’m sure if I’m in the seat, I can fight for a higher Constructors’ Championship [position] and what they want. But, other things, politics things. They decide what they want.”
Despite sitting only P8 in the drivers’ championship, it looks like Perez will be retained by the team for one more year. It is being suggested in the paddock that the sponsorship money the Mexican driver brings to the team is too much to ignore for the Bulls.
However, how long can the team jeopardize their title ambitions over sponsorship revenue?
