Red Bull staff don’t want to talk about Sergio Perez issue that’s left them ‘depressed’

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Sergio Perez heads into his home race, the Mexico City Grand Prix, under extreme pressure. It could well be his final appearance at the circuit as an F1 driver.

Perez’s father still thinks he can win a championship, but while his camp may still be bullish, Red Bull are increasingly pessimistic. They would have hoped his fine performance at the Azerbaijan GP marked a breakthrough.

The 34-year-old outqualified teammate Max Verstappen for the first time all season, and was on course to end his podium drought before a late collision with Carlos Sainz. Unfortunately, that weekend is looking like an anomaly.

The following weekend in Singapore, Perez failed to reach Q3 for the sixth time this season. He recovered to 10th in the race, but Verstappen was second in the other car.

In Austin last weekend, he limped to ninth in the Sprint as Verstappen cruised to victory. While he improved to seventh in the main Grand Prix, he was still 40 seconds off the sister car and he lost out to George Russell, who had started from the pit lane.

Liam Lawson’s strong run to P9, also from the back of the grid, has positioned him as the favourite to partner Verstappen next year. Perez has been linked with Sauber, the team who gave him his F1 debut, but is no longer part of that conversation.

Red Bull ‘don’t want to hear about’ Sergio Perez’s struggles

According to Auto Motor und Sport journalist Michael Schmidt, who was speaking on the Formel Schmidt podcast, Red Bull employees have grown tired of discussing Perez’s woes. They have become ‘depressed’ because none of their proposed solutions have worked out.

Many will blame Perez for the team’s failure to defend the constructors’ title. If he’d scored even 60% of Verstappen’s points tally, Red Bull would still be top of the championship.

That will cost the team prize money, and the staff at Milton Keynes a healthy bonus. Verstappen has managed to maintain a healthy lead in the drivers’ without support from the other side of the garage.

Schmidt said: “The fact that Perez hasn’t gotten going again actually shows that the car is still very much hard to drive. He needs the car and can’t run over the problems.

“That’s why he’s out of sight. It’s a risk from Red Bull because you urgently need the points in the fight for the constructors’ position. There’s a lot of money there.

“Of course you try everything to get it out somehow. I think the contract is good enough. And that’s why everyone is a bit depressed. Yesterday I was told ‘don’t talk to me about Perez, I don’t want to hear about it’.”

What Red Bull staff are now saying ‘behind the scenes’ about Liam Lawson’s 2025 chances

‘Everyone’ at Red Bull is ‘praying’ that Perez steps down at the end of the season. There’s no indication that he’ll make such an announcement at his home Grand Prix.

The team are unlikely to face any legal issues if they axe the six-time race-winner, even though he signed a new deal in June. Perez is in breach of contract after failing to meet the performance criteria.

Based on Schmidt’s insight, numerous engineers may be lobbying for a change. Lawson is in pole position to complete Red Bull’s 2025 line-up, those with ‘behind the scenes’ access say.

He’s metaphorically wearing the ‘yellow jersey’ like the leader of the Tour de France. And if the drivers concerned remain in their Austin form, he’ll keep hold of it until Abu Dhabi.