It thundered so much that in the end it rained. In the evening, the separation between the Red Bull team and Sergio Perez was made official. Despite having obtained the extension of his contract until 2026 last summer, it came to an early break. And it couldn’t be otherwise considering Perez’s serious drop in performance in the second part of the 2024 season, but not only. Already in 2023, despite the second place achieved in the final ranking, we had witnessed subpar performances and the same in 2022,
In all three seasons mentioned, Perez had enjoyed a brilliant start, but after the first well-run races, there was always a major psychological breakdown. The Mexican has never been consistent, he has not been able to hold his own against teammate Max Verstappen, who in his presence has won four consecutive world championships. Only the first year, 2021, was everything forgiven as it was his first time in Red Bull and he had also helped Verstappen in the battle with Lewis Hamilton on more than one occasion.
After that, Perez had made no secret of his world championship aims. In 2022 the victory in Monte Carlo and a series of podium finishes had allowed him to maintain Verstappen’s pace until the eighth of the twenty-two scheduled races, then the loss of pace. Also in 2023, Perez remained in the Dutchman’s wake in the early stages of the championship, but from the sixth race onwards, the gap increased more and more and once again the world championship hopes quickly faded.
In summary, in 2021 Verstappen scored 395.5 points, Perez 190. In 2022, 454 points for Max and 305 for Sergio. In 2023 it ended 575 against 285 and finally, this year, the widest gap: 437 Verstappen points, 152 Perez. With the aggravating circumstance that the lack of results has removed Red Bull from contention for the constructors’ title, being overtaken by McLaren and Ferrari after the victories in 2022 and 2023.
Perez, now 34 years old, thus bitterly ends his long presence in Formula 1 which began in 2011 with Sauber-Ferrari. In 2013, but only for one season, he competed for McLaren, then the partnership with Force India started in 2014 and ended in 2020, when the team changed its name in 2018 to Racing Point. Then, from 2021 to 2024, Red Bull. In total, there were 284 attendances at the F1 weekends, and 281 participations at the Grands Prix.
He was vice world champion in 2023, six victories including one with Racing Point, his first success, in 2020. With Red Bull he took the top step in Baku 2021, Monte Carlo and Singapore 2022, Jeddah and Baku in 2023. Three poles, all with Red Bull, including two in Jeddah (2022 and 2023) and Miami 2023. A total of 39 podiums achieved.
Liam Lawson arrives in his place at Red Bull. He was the candidate preferred by Helmut Marko and Christian Horner even if in recent weeks there had been talk of Yuki Tsunoda, who in fact could have been the ideal candidate after four years spent in the second team of the group. The name of Franco Colapinto had also been mentioned , soon abandoned. We therefore wanted to give meaning to the Junior Red Bull programme, but certainly for Lawson, having only competed in 11 Grands Prix, it will be very difficult to arrive at Verstappen’s court so soon.
Lawson reported New Zealand in F1 after the 25 GPs contested by Brendon Hartley with Toro Rosso in 2017/2018. This year he was the third Red Bull and Racing Bulls driver, Daniel Ricciardo’s early exit opened the doors for him. And the Australian himself, in 2023 due to the Zandvoort accident, had allowed Lawson to debut in F1 in his place. Coincidences that come back. In his career, Lawson was vice champion of the Japanese Super Formula in 2023, third in Formula 2 in 2022.
In 2021 he alternated between Formula 2 (ninth) and DTM, a category in which Red Bull had entered as sponsor of the two Ferrari AF Corse entrusted to him and Alexander Albon. Lawson was splendid, fighting for the title until the last race and emerging as vice champion. In 2020, he placed fifth in Formula 3, in 2019 he won the New Zealand Toyota Series and in the Euroformula he was vice champion, while in 2018 he finished second in German F4.
With Lawson’s move from Racing Bulls to Red Bull, the list of names for those who will fill the seat of the second single-seater of the Faenza team begins. Number one candidate, Isaac Hadjar, Formula 2 vice champion this season.
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