‘Done everything we can’: Pérez’s horror decline laid bare as axe hovers amid ‘desperate’ stoush

Sergio Pérez’s Formula 1 future is in jeopardy after another scoreless race at his home Mexico City Grand Prix, with Kiwi Liam Lawson waiting in the wings for promotion.

Sergio Pérez could be out of a drive as soon as next month, with Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner refusing to back the Mexican beyond this weekend’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix after his home-race horror show.

Pérez endured another stinker at the Mexico City Grand Prix, bombing out of qualifying in 18th and fumbling his way to the chequered flag in 17th and last among the finishers.

His non-score — his fifth of the season — combined with a penalty-riddled race by teammate Max Verstappen, ensured Red Bull Racing dropped to third in the constructors championship.

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It’s the first time in five years that the team has been third or lower on the title table after the first three races of a season.

Red Bull Racing dominated the 2023 campaign, winning every race but one.

Pérez’s anaemic points haul is the principal cause of RBR’s descent from the top of the championship. The Mexican is eighth in the title standings with 150 points, less than half of title leader Verstappen’s 362-point haul.

Speculation has been mounting that Red Bull Racing is preparing to sack Pérez at the end of the season since Liam Lawson was drafted to junior team RB as Daniel Ricciardo’s replacement from the United States Grand Prix earlier this month.

But rumours erupted in the Mexico City paddock that the team might move to oust him even earlier than that, with suggestions this weekend’s São Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil could be his last in Formula 1.

Asked if the 34-year-old would see out the season with Red Bull Racing, team boss Horner refused to rule out an early change.

“You know, there comes a point in time that difficult decisions have to be made,” he said, per Reuters. “We’re now third in the constructors championship.

“Our determination is to try and get back into a winning position, but it’s going to be a tall order over these next four races.”

The situation is complicated by Pérez having signed a fresh contract taking him at least until the end of 2025 earlier this season, shortly before his catastrophic form slump began.

Pérez has repeatedly denied reports of his impending demise, insisting after the weekend’s race that he would be back to win his home grand prix next season.

However, rumours in July suggested the six-time race winner was already in breach of contract in July, when he entered the mid-season break more than 100 points behind Verstappen in the drivers championship, terms that are said to have been inserted into his deal as part of negotiations for an extension.

“Checo has a contract for next year, so he’s currently our driver for 2025,” Horner said on Friday, doing little to allay speculation.

Pérez was close to being dropped at the mid-season break, with Ricciardo having been expected to make a fairytale return to Milton Keynes.

However, in a crunch meeting on the Monday after the Belgian Grand Prix, team leaders decided to give Pérez a conditional stay of execution.

“We look forward to seeing him perform at tracks he has previously excelled at after the summer break,” Horner said at the time.

The team is also said to have taken the view that it could do more to help get the best out of Pérez, particularly as it was becoming clear the RB20 was coming off the boil in the fight against McLaren, with Verstappen having gone winless since June.

The reprieve was widely believed to be a four-race window ending with the Azerbaijan and Singapore grands prix, races that Pérez has won in the past, but he’s also a podium-getter at the United States and Mexico City grands prix.

Speaking to Sky Sport Germany, Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko said it was clear the plan had failed.

“The hoped-for upturn that we all expected unfortunately didn’t materialise,” he said.

Horner said the team was still working with Pérez to help lift him back to race-winning level but again refused to commit to him for the rest of the year.

“He knows Formula 1 is a results-based business, and inevitably when you’re not delivering then the spotlight is firmly on you,” Horner said, per Reuters.

“As a team we need both cars scoring points, and that’s the nature of Formula 1.

“We’re working with him as hard as we can to try and support him. I think we’ve done everything that we can to support Checo, and we’ll continue to do so in Brazil next weekend.

“But there comes a point in time that you can only do so much.”

HOW BAD ARE THINGS GOING?

Pérez’s admitted ahead of his home race that he had had a “terrible” season, but even that undersells the chasm between him and Verstappen.

If the Mexican was given the ultimatum to perform in the race after the mid-season break or face the axe, he couldn’t have mounted a less compelling case.

Sergio Pérez averages since the mid-season break

Qualifying result: 10.6 average

Qualifying differential: 6.2 places behind Verstappen (rank: 20th)

Time differential: 0.453 seconds behind Verstappen (rank: 19th)

Race result: 10.8 average

Race differential: 6.8 places behind Verstappen (rank: 20th)

Points: 97 points behind Verstappen (outscored 6.11:1)

He’s the worst performing teammate in Formula 1 by almost every metric. Only Zhou Guanyu has been outqualified more heavily by his teammate, though he’s driving the worst car on the grid that appears to be getting worse by the round.

The performance disparity would be manageable were Pérez — and the team — not taking such a whack in the points standings.

But in the last five races he’s been outscored by Fernando Alonso, Nico Hülkenberg and Kevin Magnussen and has scored just one more point than Alex Albon and two more than rookie Franco Colapinto.

Points since the mid-season break, drivers championship

1. Lando Norris: 116 points (average 19.3 points per race)

2. Charles Leclerc: 114 points (19.0 points per race)

3. Max Verstappen: 85 points (14.2 points per race)

4. Oscar Piastri: 84 points (14.0 points per race)

5. Carlos Sainz: 78 points (13 points per race)

7. George Russell: 61 points (10.2 points per race)

7. Lewis Hamilton: 39 points (6.5 points per race)

8. Sergio Pérez: 19 points (3.2 points per race)

Last year the car was dominant enough for the Mexican to still finish second on the drivers title table despite an enduring form slump, with Verstappen’s score enough on its own to claim the constructors championship.

This year, however, competition is too fierce to indulge Pérez’s confidence crisis.

Points since the mid-season break, constructors championship

1. McLaren: 200 points (35.6 points per race)

2. Ferrari: 192 points (30.2 points per race)

3. Red Bull Racing: 104 points (19.2 points per race)

4. Mercedes: 100 points (15.6 points per race)

Pérez’s underperformance will cost the team more than just prestige; it will cost Red Bull Racing millions in prize money and its staff thousands in championship bonuses.

With competition expected to be only fiercer in 2025, taking Pérez into a new season with his form woes unresolved would virtually guarantee championship defeat.

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LIAM LAWSON IS IN LINE TO REPLACE HIM

Having decided Ricciardo wasn’t up to the task of replacing Pérez, Pérez could have felt secure in his seat by virtue of having no obvious successor.

But Lawson’s elevation to RB put him back on notice, and the Kiwi’s impressive form has turned the screws.

Though the sample size extends to only two grands prix, Lawson already has a handy qualifying time advantage over teammates Yuki Tsunoda of 0.212 seconds, having blitzed the Japanese ace by almost half a second in Austin before suffering a narrow 0.033-second defeat in Mexico City.

The latter, however, came only after Tsunoda crashed out of Q2. Both RB drivers were on improved laps and likely would have made the Q3.

Marko, speaking to Sky Sport Germany, said the smash underlined Red Bull’s uncertainty about Tsunoda’s mental strength under pressure in considering him for the job of partnering career killer Verstappen.

“We thought he had stabilised, but apparently now, when the pressure comes from Lawson, it’s noticeable,” he said.

More impressive than his qualifying performances, however, has been his race pace.

Mastering Pirelli’s bespoke F1 tyres is a significant challenge in adapting to Formula 1, but Lawson has exhibited the pace of a driver with significantly more experience than his seven grand prix weekends.

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - OCTOBER 27: Liam Lawson of New Zealand and Visa Cash App RB talks to Laurent Mekies, Team Principal of Visa Cash App RB on the grid prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 27, 2024 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

His race from 19th to ninth in Austin was immensely impressive, and he again demonstrated strong pace in Mexico when he was able to find clear air.

He’s also shown himself to be a stern racer in combat.

Lawson’s race at the weekend featured two key scraps. One was with Franco Colapinto, from which he picked up car damage that ruined his race by forcing an unscheduled pit stop. The Argentine was punished by the stewards for causing the crash.

But the other was with Pérez for what was at the time 10th place.

Pérez had made a sizzling start from 18th on the grid, passing five cars off the line, albeit with the help of being forwards of his pit box, for which he copped a penalty.

He might still have scored minor points, but Lawson wasn’t in the mood for letting him through.

Despite both men’s denials, they surely know they are competing for the same seat.

Pérez got a good run on the Kiwi into turn 4 and attempted to pry open his defence down the inside. Lawson clung firm around the outside, however, and was bumped off the track.

Rather than cut the corner, as Norris had done earlier in the race, Lawson rejoined side by side with Pérez. They made seemingly light contact, and the RB driver kept the place.

But in the elbows-out battle Pérez had picked up disproportionately significant damage to his floor and sidepods. The team later suggested it was worth up to 70 points of downforce, which could be worth up to 0.7 seconds per lap.

If his race was already flagging, it was now terminal.

He was forced into an early pit stop, which later forced him into a second pit stop. With nothing to lose late in the race, he pitted at third time to try to set the fastest lap but fell short by more than 0.8 seconds, leaving him a scoreless last.

‘I DON’T THINK HE HAS THE RIGHT ATTITUDE’

The Mexican was furious after the race, blaming Lawson for his miserable afternoon.

“I don’t think he has the right attitude for [Formula 1],” he said, per Racer. “He needs to be a bit more humble.

“When you come to Formula 1, you’re obviously very hungry and so on, but you have to be respectful off-track and on-track. I don’t think he’s showing the right attitude to show a good pace for himself, because I think he’s a great driver and I hope for him that he can step back and learn from it.

“I think he’s just racing everyone out of control at the moment.

“I think in his two first grands prix he has had too many incidents, and I think there will be a point where it can cost him too much, like he did this weekend.

“If you don’t learn from your mistakes, Formula 1 is a brutal world and he might not continue.”

Pérez implored the team to counsel Lawson on his driving.

“Today it cost Red Bull Racing a lot of points, so I think they should speak to him.”

Given the rumours of his own demise at Lawson’s hands and his own massive role in costing his own team points, it had more than whiff of desperation.

But Lawson also didn’t cover himself in glory, flipping Pérez off as he passed him later in the race, making his frustration clear.

Marko, who will play a key role in Lawson’s potential elevation, suggested that he was uncomfortable seeing Red Bull branded cars fighting each other so hard, telling Viaplay he wanted there to be “more respect” — though he also acknowledged that Lawson was a tough racer in what appeared to be a tacit endorsement of his abilities, balancing concern with praise.

Lawson apologised profusely for displaying his middle finger.

“It’s obviously one of those in-the-moment things,” he said, per ESPN. “He spent half the lap blocking me trying to ruin my race.

“I was upset, but it’s not an excuse. I shouldn’t have done it, and I apologise for that.

“I don’t think it’s what Helmut likes, it’s not my character, it’s not something I should have done.”

Evidently the New Zealander knows how fine a line he’s walking in the Red Bull driver program.

WHO WOULD REPLACE LAWSON?

While he must be considered the frontrunner to replace Pérez if Red Bull Racing pulls the trigger, it’s not a done deal. While doubts have been expressed about Tsunoda’s suitability, Marko said earlier this month that the last six races were effectively a shootout between the RB drivers.

And while there are possible whispers of an early driver change, left unsaid is the critical issue of who would replace Lawson or Tsunoda in the event they step up.

While Red Bull has Formula 2 title contender Isack Hadjar on the books, it hasn’t yet resolved to move him to Formula 1.

Recent rumours have suggested Red Bull is instead pursuing Franco Colapinto for an RB drive next season.

The Argentine has been hugely impressive in his five races to date, scoring five points to teammate Alex Albon’s 12 for the season.

RB has signed drivers for less in the past, with Nyck de Vries’s 10 races at the team last year based on his single good performance at the 2022 Italian Grand Prix.

If Colapinto is the target — and if Williams, which has suggested it wants to keep him under contract and loan him out rather than give him up completely, can be convinced to let him move — then dropping Pérez early would require RB to call up a temporary substitute for the final three grands prix.

That could cost RB positions in the constructors championship. It’s 10 points behind Haas for sixth place and 19 points ahead of Williams.

If the replacement were Hadjar, it would prevent him from racing in the final two races of the F2 season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, depriving him of the chance to win the title.

Perhaps it would be a small price to pay to get Red Bull Racing’s second driver up to speed for 2025 — or maybe even give it half a chance of recovering second in the constructors championship.

Whatever the case, it feels increasingly like Pérez’s future is slipping out of his hands.

Originally published as ‘Done everything we can’: Pérez’s horror decline laid bare as axe hovers amid ‘desperate’ stoush