Five things Sergio Perez failed to do at Red Bull before exit

20th December 2024 0 By Kamron Kent

Sergio Perez has left Red Bull Racing, after four seasons with the team, in a mutual agreement between the two parties, but what are five things he missed out on during his tenure?

Feature image credit: Red Bull Content Pool

Sergio Pérez joined Red Bull Racing in 2021, when the team were desperate for a reliable second driver, to support and fight alongside Max Verstappen following two seasons where Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon failed to meet their standards.

Fighting in one of the sport’s top-tier teams, Red Bull, Perez had the opportunity to fight for wins, podiums, pole positions and world championships which would help fulfil his long-standing potential in Formula 1.

However, his tenure with Red Bull was marked by unfulfilled ambitions and critical shortcomings. Despite flashes of brilliance, Pérez failed to meet several key objectives during his time with the team, which ultimately led to his departure.

1. Win a World Drivers’ Championship

One of the primary reasons Perez joined Red Bull was to compete and fight for the World Drivers’ Championship—a dream all Formula 1 drivers look to achieve. Driving for a dominant team with a competitive car gave him the best opportunity of his career to achieve this goal.

However, Pérez could not challenge his teammate, Max Verstappen, who had secured an impressive four consecutive titles during their time together spanning from 2021 to 2024, more recently. Perez often played a supporting role rather than competing as an equal. His lack of consistency, particularly in qualifying, made it difficult to contend for the title against Verstappen or other rivals.

2. Win the Mexican Grand Prix

As one of Mexico’s most successful Formula 1 drivers, pipping the likes of Pedro Rodriguez winning the Mexican Grand Prix would have been a career-defining moment for Pérez. Had he been successful, he would’ve been the first Mexican driver to win and stand on the podium’s top step in their home race.

Despite competing in one of the most dominant cars on the grid, Perez failed to claim victory in Mexico during his time with Red Bull. This was a missed opportunity to solidify his legacy as a national hero and achieve a dream cherished by his fans.

3. Help Red Bull defend the Constructors’ Championship

In 2023, Red Bull won the Constructors’ Championship, thanks largely to Verstappen’s champion-worthy performance, following their success in 2022. However, Perez’s inconsistencies in 2024 contributed to the team failing to defend this title and fell to third, behind winners McLaren and Ferrari.

While Verstappen continued to perform at an elite level, securing his fourth world title, Perez’s inability to consistently deliver podium finishes or strong results hurt Red Bull’s ability to maximize points. This made the team vulnerable to the likes of Ferrari and McLaren.

His struggles in qualifying and occasional errors during races undermined the team’s overall success, highlighting the importance of a reliable second driver.

4. Consistent performances

Perez’s time at Red Bull could be characterized by periods of inconsistency. He began some seasons strongly, even challenging Verstappen in the opening rounds, but his performance often dropped off as the season progressed, more notably in 2023 and 2024.

This year, for example, Perez achieved a total of four podium finishes in five races, only failing to do this in Australia during this time period. However, following his winless season, Perez endured six Q1 eliminations and failed to score more than 10 points after the Miami Grand Prix.

His inability to consistently deliver in both qualifying and races put him under pressure from within the team and from rising stars in Red Bull’s junior program.

5. Ability to break out of performance slumps

A defining feature of Pérez’s Red Bull tenure was his extended performance slumps which he could not escape and ultimately endured a premature exit and Red Bull terminated his contract early.

This season was one of the worst slumps Perez endured during his time with the team. Despite a strong start to the season with podium finishes in; Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Japan and China, Perez fell to the wayside and began to struggle. He also endured a stretch of races where he failed to make it into Q3 during qualifying, significantly impacting his race results.

From the Emilia-Romanga Grand Prix, Perez was only able to score the low-hanging points whilst being consistently out-scored by Verstappen. Eight points was Perez’s highest points haul, from the Miami Grand Prix onwards, where he scored eight points at the Dutch Grand Prix – never achieving higher than that for the rest of the season.

These slumps not only affected Pérez’s confidence but also weakened Red Bull’s competitiveness in the Constructors’ standings.

Kamron Kent

Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.

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About the author

Kamron Kent

Five things Sergio Perez failed to do at Red Bull before exit