Everyone saw it coming from a mile away, but now it’s official: Red Bull Racing confirmed that Sergio Perez will not be racing for the team during the 2025 Formula 1 season. The Mexican racer spent four years at Red Bull and helped deliver the team’s 2022 and 2023 Constructors’ Championships, in addition to assisting teammate Max Verstappen earn his own world titles.
Like many before him, Perez had a contract to race for Milton Keynes until the end of 2025, but a variety of performance clauses likely sealed his fate. Meetings with Red Bull’s top management and shareholders took place this week to decide the future of the team’s second seat, and the company ultimately decided to release him.
“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,” said Perez in a release. “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,” he added.
While Perez’s performance in 2024 was abysmal, one can’t help but wonder if Red Bull will ever find the perfect match for Verstappen. Surely, the main goal has to be taking back the constructors’ title in 2025, and they’ll need someone who can score more than 152 points in a season—which is how many Checo bagged this year. For comparison, Verstappen scored 437.
It’s been four years since Red Bull had to hire another driver, yet the routine feels all too fresh given how many firings and hirings the team has performed over the last decade. It’s unlikely that team principal Christian Horner will make a driver announcement before the end of the year, but earlier this week he said it would come down to RB drivers Yuki Tsunoda or Liam Lawson. Regardless, the chances of a new driver coming in and getting up to speed in a car and team strategically built for Verstappen and Verstappen only are extremely slim. And that’s before you consider that everything will be changing in 2026 when the new rules go into effect.
“It has also been an honour to race alongside Max as a teammate all these years and to share in our success,” added Perez. “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.”
As a Mexican and unrelated carrier of the same last name, it’s a sad day, even if it’s also one that I knew was coming. During a recent chat with Perez ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, he exuded a quiet yet hopeful desire to take a step back from the F1 circus and leave the media noise behind. His demeanor foreshadowed today’s news, and he went as far as saying that he had no desire to race full-time after his F1 career came to an end.
Perez’s exit leaves no other Mexican drivers on the grid, with F3 racer and rising talent Noel Leon being the only one with a shot at joining the championship in the coming years.
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