Five key moments that cost Sergio Perez his Red Bull F1 drive for 2025

Sergio Perez’s F1 career has come to an end - for now at least - following Red Bull’s decision to replace him with Liam Lawson for 2025.

Perez’s form in 2024 was unsustainable, finishing an astonishing 280 points behind Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen. His results meant that Red Bull dropped to third in the F1 constructors’ championship in 2024, falling behind McLaren and Ferrari.

The lateness of the decision means there are no seats available on the grid for Perez in 2025, meaning a year on the sidelines is enforced. Given the stress and pressure he’s been under, combined with the poor results, it might not be a bad thing.

If Perez wants to return to F1 in the future, his prowess in the midfield combined with his significant financial backing makes a comeback possible - should he want it.

But what were the key moments behind his ultimate axing?

The cracks start to show in 2023

Perez’s mid-season dips have been a common occurrence throughout his four years with Red Bull - but he’s typically been able to rediscover his form before the end of the season. In 2021, Perez went eight races without a podium during the European leg of the campaign before ending it strongly with a number of rostrum appearances.

Similarly, in 2022, he scored one podium between Canada and Monza (a six-race run), but again, he hit back at the end of the year with arguably the best win of his career at the Singapore Grand Prix.

His struggles in 2023 were more pronounced, particularly in qualifying. Perez failed to make it into Q3 in five consecutive races despite driving the most dominant car in F1 history.

Even after that, Perez never qualified higher than third, indicating to Red Bull that the cracks were there. Red Bull boss Christian Horner was ultimately satisfied, though, as Perez held on to second in the drivers’ championship, giving them a 1-2 in the standings - something they didn’t achieve with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.

Missing in Australia

Perez started 2024 strongly with four podiums in the opening five races. However, an early DNF for Verstappen left a win on the table for Perez.

It was Ferrari who capitalised, taking a 1-2 finish at Albert Park. For Perez, he was in no man’s land, coming home in a lacklustre fifth place.

A grid penalty put him on the back foot - but it was a missed opportunity for Perez at a time when Red Bull had a car that was clearly the class of the field. 

Contract extension doesn’t address slump

The Mexican’s typical mid-season slump started to creep in with a torrid Monaco weekend. On the eve of the next race in Canada, Red Bull shocked the world by handing him a contract extension until the end of 2025.

Despite his dip in form, Red Bull wanted to give Perez assurances and one less thing to worry about.

Later in the year, Horner conceded that it simply didn’t work, with his form only getting worse.

“Obviously at the time, Sergio was performing extremely well. I think he had four podiums in the first five races.

“And in order to settle his mind and extend that run of form for the rest of the season, we elected to go early, which obviously didn't work. So, that's just life sometimes,” Horner said.

His form was so poor that Red Bull considered replacing him during the summer break.

Missed opportunity in Baku

After retaining his seat after the summer break amid intense speculation that Daniel Ricciardo would replace him, Azerbaijan provided an opportunity for Perez to score a landmark result.

Baku is the only track on the calendar where Perez has been able to genuinely outperform Verstappen - something Red Bull were banking on given the mini run of street circuits. To Perez’s credit, he performed well in Baku, outpacing Verstappen on merit.

He challenged Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc for the win but made contact with Carlos Sainz in the closing laps, putting both drivers in the wall.

Unnecessary crash damage combined with a collision that was arguably more Perez’s fault made for another missed opportunity.

Home turf embarrassment

Things only got worse for Perez in the final races of the season, but his home event in Mexico City posed an opportunity to return to form.

Perez blamed a brake issue for his Q1 elimination in front of his home crowd. Meanwhile, his race day performance was borderline embarrassing as he was penalised for starting too far forwards in his grid box.

His battle with his ultimate successor, Lawson, resulted in damage as he got lapped and finished last in the classification. Perez would go on to score just two points in the final five races - fewer than Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu.

His results put Red Bull out of constructors’ title contention heading into Abu Dhabi, leaving them with a key decision to make ahead of the New Year. Perez enjoyed four seasons with Red Bull, finishing runner-up once and helping them win two constructors’ titles.

The timing of his arrival coincided with Red Bull’s return to title contention - a luxury Pierre Gasly or Alex Albon didn’t get to enjoy.

Perez will bow out of F1, bruised from the intense competition and in need of a break. Whether he returns to F1 depends on his motivation to ply his trade in the midfield and whether teams believe he is still a capable performer on a grid full of young, exciting talent.