Peter Windsor thinks £210k-a-week driver may ‘suddenly’ realise he wants F1 exit

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There is a lot of speculation heading into the 2025 driver market over who will have the final seats, as only a handful remain on the grid.

Contracts in Formula 1 are usually honoured if drivers perform on the track, but there are usually escape clauses for both parties if they want a way out.

According to Ted Kravitz, a driver swap could happen as early as mid-season this year while several others on the grid await the ‘cork in the bottle’ Carlos Sainz to make his move.

The driver with the biggest pressure to perform is Sergio Perez at Red Bull, following a spate of disappointing results for the Mexican. In the last six races, he has only scored 15 points with Nico Hulkenberg at Haas scoring more with his consistent points finishes.

Williams driver Logan Sargeant has also consistently out-qualified Perez after the Mexican suffered several Q1 exits during his run of poor form. Peter Windsor believes Perez faces a decision in the upcoming races if his form does not improve when speaking on his YouTube livestream.

Peter Windsor believes Sergio Perez may decide to quit F1

It is not uncommon for drivers to hang up their helmets either temporarily or for good in F1, should a race-winning drive be unavailable elsewhere.

Mika Haikkinnen famously went on a career sabbatical before effectively retiring, while Michael Schumacher stepped down in 2006 and made a shortlived comeback in 2010.

With such a scarcity of seats available and Perez unable to prove he is worthy of his £210k-a-week investment with his recent run of results, Windsor believes it could be the end of the Mexican’s F1 career in the short term if he is ousted by Red Bull.

“If he doesn’t continue to get any better, it’s not only ‘Will Red Bull get rid of him’ but will Perez suddenly realise that he doesn’t want to be an F1 driver anymore and go do something else? He can’t continue as he is, but some easier circuits are coming up.”

Who could replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull?

Liam Lawson has been billed as a likely candidate in recent days to potentially replace the Mexican but at a recent in-season test, utilising Red Bull’s filming day allocation, the 22-year-old reportedly did not impress.

Red Bull is not short on a pool of drivers that it could replace Perez with given its roster of drivers in the Young Driver Academy, with Daniel Ricciardo a potential replacement if he can improve his results at sister team RB in the next couple of races.

Isack Hadjar and Arvid Lindblad could potentially get promoted early from feeder series Formula 2 and Formula 3, but it seems unlikely at this stage given their experience.

As for Perez, the Mexican could find refuge at other premier championships such as IndyCar or the World Endurance Championship should he decide to leave F1.

With no clear replacement options, it could be a case of consistently finishing inside the top five that enables Perez to hang on to his seat. But for how much longer seems to be the main question on everyone’s mind for one of the fastest seats on the grid.