Ted Kravitz tells Sergio Perez what he must do to ‘stave off’ Liam Lawson in Red Bull fight

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Sergio Perez heads to his home race at the Mexico City Grand Prix arguably under more pressure than he’s ever felt during his time at Red Bull.

Twelve months ago, Sergio Perez had plenty to prove when he raced in front of his home crowd.

Red Bull had dominated the championship, with Max Verstappen already a three-time world champion at this stage of the campaign.

However, while Perez went on to finish second in the standings – the first time Red Bull had secured a one-two finish in the Drivers’ Championship – he was so far off the Dutchman’s pace that he was already being questioned.

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Perez went into the Mexico City Grand Prix last year hoping to impress, but his race ended at the first corner.

He tried an ambitious move on Charles Leclerc but ended up catching his front wheel and was sent flying into the air, doing irreparable damage to his Red Bull.

Now, Perez heads to his home race knowing that at least two drivers are gunning for his seat.

After nearly four years at RB, Yuki Tsunoda is finally being considered as a candidate for a promotion.

His new teammate Liam Lawson is also putting Perez under pressure after a seriously impressive return to Formula 1 at the United States Grand Prix.

Ted Kravitz was speaking on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast about Perez’s current Red Bull prospects.

He’s explained what Perez needs to do to fend off the prospect of being replaced by Lawson or Tsunoda for the 2025 F1 season.

Ted Kravitz tells Sergio Perez he needs a ‘big result’ at the Mexican Grand Prix

Kravitz was talking about Lawson’s fantastic return to F1 and said: “What’s that going to mean for the future of Checo Perez?

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“Checo really needs a big result from Mexico, doesn’t he this weekend to stave off the sort of coming force of Liam Lawson.

“Who thought we’d be talking in those terms?”

Perez didn’t have the same car as Verstappen at the US Grand Prix which immediately put him on the back foot.

However, he only finished 11 seconds ahead of Lawson’s RB despite starting 10 positions ahead of the Kiwi.

Not only that, but Perez finished behind George Russell, even though the Mercedes driver started the race from the pit lane in a car that had many of its upgrades removed after his crash in qualifying.

Helmut Marko and Christian Horner already very impressed with Liam Lawson

While Tsunoda managed to fend off the threat of Daniel Ricciardo, Lawson appears to be a much tougher competitor already.

The 22-year-old was promoted before the end of the season as Red Bull wanted to decide where to place him in 2025.

Christian Horner was very impressed with Lawson after he scored points in Austin and finished ahead of his teammate, much to Tsunoda’s annoyance with RB.

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Helmut Marko described Liam as a man for the future and that could be a very deliberate description when it comes to where he’ll be driving next year.

Perez’s father believes that he’ll still be racing in F1 next year as he thinks he’s still got a chance of being a world champion in the future.

That feels like very wishful thinking as Perez has been warned he may not even complete the season.