Sergio Perez was a shadow of his former self claiming his final podium of the 2024 Formula One season at round five in China. The Red Bull driver left the People’s Republic second in the drivers’ championship, just 25 points behind his team mate Max Verstappen.

The decline was slow and painful as the Mexican driver race by race would lose another spot to his rivals come the arrival of the F1 circus in Azerbaijan, Checo’s Demis was complete as he sat firmly in eight place, the lowest ranked driver amongst the front running four F1 teams.

Heading into the summer break, paddock insiders firmly expected the Red Bull team to replace Perez with Daniel Ricciardo, the last driver to compete on level terms with Max in the same car. Yet come the race weekend in Zandvoort, Christian Horner confirmed Perez was here to stay for at least the next four rounds, given some of his favoured circuits where he has won previously, were next up on the schedule.

 

 

 

Perez disaster in Baku

Yet there were no repeat wins for Checo in either Azerbaijan or Singapore despite running third in Baku, Sergio collided with Carlos Sainz starting the penultimate lap, which proved to be his final hope for a decent race finish for the rest of the year.

The shock from the Red Bull camp came as F1 entered its three weekend long inaugural autumn break. It was Richard who was dropped for Liam Lawson and so Perez was gifted a lifeline for the rest of the year.

Another shocker of a race in his home of Mexico City appeared to be the final nail in the Perez coffin. The narrative shifted from the Red Bull management. When questioned about Sergio’s future, Horner now began to claim, it was up to his driver whether he wished to continue.

“I’m going to let Checo [Pérez] come to his own conclusions; nobody’s forcing him one way or another,” said Horner in Mexico when asked whether Perez would fulfil his contract to drive in 2025. To the very end the Perez management camp including his father, appeared to be delusional repeating the fact that Checo had a contract for next season – and that was that!

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Paddock figures lower voices in Perez shame

Sergio scored just one point over the final five rounds of the year, and the scrutiny from paddock observers over his performances, gave way to sympathetic whispers. Danica Patrick talked of Perez’s public embarrassment while presenting for Sky TV, the voices of her co-hosts dropped as though there had been a death in the family.

Ahead of the Abu Dhabi finale, Sergio was asked about his future and his response was metronomic. “Nothing has changed since before in terms of what I’ve said for the entire year. I got a contract for next year and I will be driving for Red Bull next year,” the defiant Mexican told assembled media.

As the curtain began to fall on Perez F1 career, ex-Red Bull driver and Channel 4 presenter, David Coulthard, was asked for his opinion on the Sergio Perez debacle. “Checo is a very good human being, but it’s painful to watch the resistance to the facts, and I can only assume it’s a management play,” he said on the Formula for Success podcast.

“Julian Jakobi is his manager — Julian we know and respect for many years; [he’s an] intelligent, good manager. But his job is to make sure the money is there.

“So I can only imagine it’s about trying to negotiate the biggest payoff possible to get him to go of his own accord, rather than basically say, ‘Okay, we’re paying you whatever we’d agreed to pay you for next year, but we’re not giving you a race car,” was Coulthard’s explanation for the apparent denial coming from the Perez camp.

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Coulthard reveals ‘vitriolic’ abuse

Coulthard was to receive some unpleasant attention on social media for expressing his expert opinion on a topic which was on everyone’s lips inside the paddock.

Once again on the Fomrula for Success podcast this week, Coulthard revisits the Checo saga and the vitriolic backlash he experienced. “I voiced an opinion on this very show ahead of the end of the season,” he began. “And I just felt it was a standoff between himself and his management.”

“I took some heat from Mexico, all sorts of the usual vitriol, ‘What would you know? What have you ever achieved?’ and all that good stuff.” Yet Coulthard was a thirteen times Grand Prix winner during his time in F1, and as a more experienced driver than Perez with just his six wins, the Channel 4 presenter had every right to just do his job.

“But the fact is, I was merely basing an opinion on the facts,” he explained. “The facts are Checo, if it was a personality contest and one of the most liked drivers in the paddock contest, would still be in the seat. He’s a brilliant man.”

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The facts remain for Checo

Coulthard acknowledge the 2024 F1 season was not a true reflection of Checo’s ability and argued his time in the sport has seen him considered one of the best drivers when compared to his team mates.

“He has done a great job, and he has won lots of Grand Prix, and he can be incredibly proud of his performance,” Coulthard conceded.

“But, last season, he didn’t match Max and it cost the team valuable points in the Constructors’ Championship. So an agreement has been found where he will still be involved with the brand in some way, but clearly not behind the steering wheel of the Red Bull Racing car.”

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Perez no apparent role at Red Bull

Perez broke his silence for the first time since his departure from Red Bull Racing this week, yet he failed to reveal whether he will be performing any Red Bull duties this season. 

“It’s too early to answer the question of whether I plan to return to Formula One,” Perez told ESPN Mexico. “Everything happened very quickly at the end of last season. I was not expecting to leave the team.”

With six new fully time drivers joining F1 this season, it appears a changing of the guard is taking place in the sport. With the departure of a number of experienced drivers such as Kevin Magnussen, Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guangu in one fell swoop, the competition for the experienced driver role with Cadillac next season will be hotly contested with no guarantees that Sergio Perez will reclaim his place on the grid.

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Norris reveals new ‘papaya rules’

The 2024 Formula One season was one of extremes, yet the headline news come the end of the year was Max Verstappen became a consecutive four times F1 drivers’ champion and for the first time in 26 years, McLaren won the constructors’ championship.

The highs and lows were typified by the continuation of Red Bull’s uber dominant form from 2023, with Max Verstappen set to equal his own record of ten consecutive Grand Prix victories, only for his brakes to fail in Australia handing the win to Carlos Sainz.

Verstappen went on to win seven of the first ten Grand Prix although he was unfortunate in Miami as Lando Norris benefitted significantly from a late safety car, otherwise the tally would have been eight from ten… READ MORE