by VALERIO BARRETTA
Perez is out
Red Bull has not yet formalized its starting driver lineup for 2025, but it has taken a first concrete step in defining who Max Verstappen’s next teammate will be: the Milton Keynes team has in fact confirmed through a press release that it has reached an agreement with Sergio Perez for the Mexican driver’s early departure from the team.
Perez pays a generally insufficient performance compared to that of Verstappen: the Mexican is in fact costly the constructors’ title to Red Bull accumulating a paltry 49 points from Imola onwards. This farewell – which curiously arrives on the same day, but exactly four years later, from the announcement of his move to Red Bull – marks the leakage Of Czech from Formula 1 after 14 consecutive seasons on the grid.
In Red Bull two Constructors’ titles and many difficulties
In his four-year stint at Red Bull, Perez collected five wins, three pole positions and 29 podiums. A relatively slim haul, considering that the Milton Keynes team had an absolutely dominant car for at least a year and a half and for 2021 permanently one of the two best cars.
However, Perez remains a possible solution for a team looking for experienced profiles, as Valtteri Bottas was for Alfa Romeo in 2022, not to mention the large amount of sponsors behind the #11. It is therefore not excluded that some medium-low range teams will carry over as early as 2025 Czech in Formula 1.
Favorite Lawson
The favorite to replace him is the New Zealander Liam Lawsonwho this year took over from Daniel Ricciardo in Racing Bulls during the current season. However, Red Bull has reported that regarding Perez’s heir they will arrive “soon” official communications, without therefore confirming the identity of the replacement at the moment.
