Sergio Perez explains why ‘nothing’ is being said about Yuki Tsunoda after he endured ‘all the media pressure’

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Sergio Perez has been reflecting on his Red Bull exit in a frank and open interview. Perez split with the team at the end of last season despite signing a new contract.

The Mexican earned his extension after a solid start to the year, but his form deteriorated thereafter. By the end of the season, Red Bull felt his position was untenable.

But Perez’s reputation has improved in 2025, even though he hasn’t been racing in F1. His initial replacement, Liam Lawson, was dropped within two weekends after three Q1 exits.

Yuki Tsunoda took over, but he’s only been a small upgrade. The Japanese driver is unable to reach the top 10 consistently in either qualifying or the race, leaving him with just seven points from eight rounds.

Perez scored 152 points last season, an average of 6.3 per weekend. Even during a 19-race podium drought, the figure only dropped to 3.5 – considerably better than Tsunoda.

Sergio Perez feels he was unfairly targeted by the F1 press

This year’s Red Bull isn’t as good as its predecessor. That’s why the reigning world champion, Max Verstappen, is a distinct outsider in the title race.

But there’s still more sympathy for Perez than there was in 2024. It’s clear that Red Bull have a fundamental problem inhibiting their second driver.

The 35-year-old, who spent four seasons with the team and won five races, may feel vindicated. But he’s also irritated that Tsunoda seems to be under less scrutiny.

Perez felt he was the media’s biggest target in 2024, but ‘nothing’ is being said about how his replacements have fared.

“I also think they [Red Bull] understand a lot about how the press works in Formula 1, how it is controlled,” he told Desde el Paddock. “This one, you haven’t seen any commentary, nothing, nothing, nothing is spoken and I think that was something important.

He later added: “Red Bull are a team who pushes you to the maximum. Then I have to endure all the media pressure. I think in recent years, very few drivers have had that pressure. Nobody had the same number of eyes on them. I mean, I’d have a bad race and it was something incredible.

“The hardest part of being a Formula 1 driver? The press.”

Why Sergio Perez’s chances of Cadillac seat have just regressed

While it’s understandable that he feels aggrieved, Perez’s version of events is perhaps a little extreme. Just this week, a prominent media outlet reported that Tsunoda is ‘certain’ to lose his seat on current form.

That exemplifies the growing external pressure as he struggles to make meaningful contributions to the team’s points tally. But perhaps the biggest difference is that Red Bull have publicly stated that Tsunoda will see out the season.

Last year, the team did little to silence strong rumours that Perez would be axed during the summer break. And the speculation continued even after they decided against a reunion with Daniel Ricciardo.

While he wants to return to F1, Perez has fallen behind Valtteri Bottas in the race for a Cadillac seat. The feeling is that the team want one veteran and one youngster.