Did Red Bull rightly regret firing Sergio Perez?

10:52, 25 Jun

byTim Kraaij

Red Bull Racing did not defend Sergio Perez and now regrets his firing. This is what the Mexican himself claims in a podcast, but is there any truth to this?

"It was a pivotal moment because I had signed a contract in Monaco and everyone was talking about my future. It would have been easy for the team to protect me, but that didn't happen. No one talked about anything other than me," Perez candidly stated in the podcast Desde el Paddock.

Did Red Bull really abandon their driver in 2024? Looking back at the interviews from that year, it’s hard to say they did. Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing’s team principal, took every chance to show confidence in Perez, saying he just needed one strong result to turn things around.

Even on the final day of the Formula 1 season in Abu Dhabi, when it was clear Perez would be replaced, Horner continued to defend him. Of course, he also mentioned they would evaluate the situation, but dropping him outright never happened.

Perez himself said Red Bull could have easily backed him — and that’s true. After all, Perez had signed a new contract with a deal for 2025. Red Bull could have fully supported and stood by him. However, that didn’t happen. A closer look at the numbers might explain why.

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Sergio Perez after his last race for Red Bull Racing

Does Red Bull regret firing Perez?

"'In the end, that's how sports are. Decisions were made because they put too much pressure on themselves. I know deep down they regret it. I heard it from a highly reliable source.'"

Perez’s second point—that Red Bull might now have regrets—is somewhat understandable. Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda have both failed to outperform Perez. The gap in qualifying is even wider than it was with Perez, and together they’ve scored just seven points for Red Bull Racing.

Yet Perez, unlike his successors, had been with the team for three years and can’t claim he delivered impressive results in his final stretch. In the second half of the season, Perez scored only 20 points. Verstappen won two more races during that same period and secured the championship. It seems unlikely Verstappen will be able to replicate that in 2025.

If Red Bull does have any regrets, it’s probably because of the hefty severance pay they had to give Perez, who had signed a new contract in 2024. This is likely why Perez shouldn’t complain about a lack of support, especially from Christian Horner.

GPblog revealed earlier that Red Bull ultimately paid 13 million euros to part ways with Perez. A costly decision that could have jeopardized Horner’s position. If Red Bull regrets anything, it’s that deal.