How much sacking Sergio Perez actually cost Red Bull after Christian Horner offered ill-advised contract extension

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Red Bull had to settle the remaining years of Sergio Perez’s contract when they opted against continuing with the Mexican driver for the 2025 season.

Perez signed a new contract with Red Bull after the Monaco Grand Prix in 2024. The decision came as a bit of a surprise at the time, owing to the 35-year-old’s poor run of form that never seemed to get better.

The renewal ended up coming back to bite the Milton Keynes-based team as they were left with a hefty sum to pay once Perez’s sacking was made official in December.

The Mexican driver was unable to secure a seat for 2025 over the winter break, but reports have suggested that he is one of a few drivers Cadillac are interested in as they enter the world of F1 in 2026.

Red Bull’s decision to re-sign Sergio Perez cost them over €4m more than what was first reported

The initial figure reported for Red Bull’s severance payout to Perez was said to be in the region of £11m, thanks to the contract signed in May of 2024, which featured terms to keep him at the wheel of a Red Bull for another two years.

However, according to Andrew Benson on the BBC’s Chequered Flag podcast, the actual number is a few million pounds off the mark. The decision to re-sign the veteran must have been seen as a huge oversight by the Austrian constructor.

“They signed Sergio Perez to a new 2-year contract, which would have taken him to the end of 2026, when there was no obvious or good reason why that should happen,” Benson started.

“His form had already started to fall off, as it had the previous year. They didn’t need to give him a 2-year contract; he would have signed a single-year contract.

“By the end of last year, they paid him off to not drive for them for two years, and I’m told that number was €18m (£15.5m).”

Things have gone downhill for Red Bull since Christian Horner decided to extend Sergio Perez’s contract

The mid-way point of the 2024 season signalled a shift in power at the top of F1. McLaren emerged as a threat to Red Bull, with the duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri consistently battling against Verstappen for race wins throughout the year.

The Dutchman was seemingly on his own out there, with Perez constantly finding himself squabbling for the lower points-paying positions in a car which was capable of much more.

Red Bull suffered in the Constructors’ Championship as a result, slipping down to third in the standings at the end of the season, behind McLaren and Ferrari, respectively.

The Drivers’ Standings painted the full picture. Out of the 589 points scored by Red Bull throughout the season, the Mexican driver contributed to just 25.8% (152) of them.

The woes of Verstappen’s team-mates leapt to haunt the Mexican’s replacement, Liam Lawson, before he was swiftly swapped out for Yuki Tsunoda, who has also been struggling in the second Red Bull this season.

Like Perez, Tsunoda’s future at the team is uncertain, with Benson previously suggesting that the Japanese driver is certain to lose his seat at Red Bull.