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Perez departs Red Bull Racing
Sergio Perez has announced he is leaving Red Bull with immediate effect following a disappointing 2024 season.
The 34-year-old was handed a two-year contract extension in early June, but his form was already starting to decline at that point after a strong start to the season during which he scored four podiums – including three runner-up results in Red Bull one-twos – in the opening five rounds.
After finishing fourth in Miami, Perez scored just 49 points in the remaining 18 race weekends to slip from second to eighth in the drivers’ championship. Although Red Bull’s competitiveness also dipped, Max Verstappen scored 301 points and picked up five race wins across the same span.
Perez ended the year 285 points behind teammate Verstappen, and the disparity between the two was one of the reasons Red Bull finished third in the constructors’ championship behind McLaren and Ferrari.
It has now been confirmed that an agreement has been reached for Perez to leave the team immediately. RACER understands that Liam Lawson will be his replacement in 2025.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the past four years with Oracle Red Bull Racing and for the opportunity to race with such an amazing team,” Perez said. “Driving for Red Bull has been an unforgettable experience and I’ll always cherish the successes we achieved together.
“We broke records, reached remarkable milestones, and I’ve had the privilege of meeting so many incredible people along the way. A big thank you to every person in the team from the management, engineers and mechanics, catering, hospitality, kitchen, marketing and communications, as well as everyone at Milton Keynes, I wish you all the best for the future.
"It has also been an honor to race alongside Max as a teammate all these years and to share in our success. A special thank you to the fans around the world, and especially to the Mexican fans for your unwavering support every day. We’ll meet again soon. And remember… Never give up.”
With Lawson expected to be Perez’s replacement, RB is likely to promote Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar into a race seat following his second-place finish in the Formula 2 championship this season.
As it stands Perez will not race in 2025, but he becomes one of a number of experienced drivers on the market ahead of Cadillac’s planned F1 entry in 2026. Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen and Zhou Guanyu also dropped off the grid this year.
This story has been updated to include quotes from Perez.
Chris Medland
While studying Sports Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, Chris managed to talk his way into working at the British Grand Prix in 2008 and was retained for three years before joining ESPN F1 as Assistant Editor. After three further years at ESPN, a spell as F1 Editor at Crash Media Group was followed by the major task of launching F1i.com’s English-language website and running it as Editor. Present at every race since the start of 2014, he has continued building his freelance portfolio, working with international titles. As well as writing for RACER, his broadcast work includes television appearances on F1 TV and as a presenter and reporter on North America's live radio coverage on SiriusXM.
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