Sergio Perez developing alarming habit during race weekends that could cost him his Red Bull seat

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Since the Miami Grand Prix took place in May, Sergio Perez has scored 15 points for Red Bull and Max Verstappen has picked up 119.

It is a stark contrast between two drivers in what is supposed to be one of the fastest cars on the grid, but it is an almost carbon copy of what happened to Perez midway through last season.

When Verstappen overtook him for the lead of the race in Miami, the Dutchman never looked back. He led every lap between Lap 48 of Miami and Lap 25 Austria in 2023, while Perez failed to finish on the podium in three out of those five races.

Perez trailed Verstappen by 69 points after this period, but this year that has more than doubled to 137 points. After performance clauses were revealed which showed the Mexican must stay within 100 points of his teammate, Perez now faces the real prospect of being ousted from his seat.

The question is whether he can improve his form, but another statistic from his poor run of results in 2023 shows an alarming trend that could spell the end of his tenure at the team.

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The alarming Sergio Perez statistic at Red Bull

One of the things that characterised this drop in form for Perez was his qualifying performances.

The last six Grands Prix have seen Perez’s chances unravel in qualifying sessions. Half of those were exits in Q1, with two appearances in Q2 at Spain and Imola, and just one appearance in Q1.

Last year Perez went on a run of poor performances, having failed to reach Q3 five times in a row between Monaco, Spain, Canada, Austria and the British GP.

Part of this was circumstantial for the Mexican, notably at the Canadian GP when he mistimed the crossover in the wet-to-dry conditions and set the 12th fastest time while Verstappen qualified on pole.

His worst result out of that run was in Monaco when he crashed out during Q1 and started 20th, but what did he do this year? Exactly the same thing. His back-of-the-grid start is ultimately what led to his DNF and throwing away more crucial points.

Perez’s form picked up after that run of five races in 2023, but his total early exits in qualifying for the season was eight after he was knocked out in Singapore, Qatar, and Las Vegas.

Will Sergio Perez learn from his mistakes?

Perez has previously stated that he needs to be most consistent to challenge Verstappen, but so far he has been anything but that in two different cars.

The RB20 is a difficult car to set up compared to previous years and it is clear now that the margin Red Bull had over its rivals has shrunk as the field has converged, meaning it is the driver that is extracting the extra tenths needed to secure results.

For Perez to continue to justify his seat he needs to outscore Verstappen at the next two races and hope that the Dutchman does not score more than 13 points. It is a big ask considering Verstappen’s consistency this year, he’s yet to finish outside of the top six in all the races he’s completed.

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Rival teams smell blood as Perez continues to throw away points. After his dire weekend at Silverstone, Oscar Piastri moved into fifth in the Drivers’ Championship and now George Russell and Lewis Hamilton are within 10 points.

Red Bull will have less opportunity to develop their car compared to McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes due to the aerodynamic testing restrictions, which dictate how many hours teams can spend developing their car in wind tunnels and CFD.

The next 12 races are even more crucial for Red Bull’s Constructors title chances as it could see things swing against them if their rivals continue their current trajectories. Perez needs to up his game, but based on the stats, it seems unlikely to deliver a spectacular turn-around in form any time soon.