Why Red Bull will not ‘fire Sergio Perez’ after the Mexico City Grand Prix despite his poor form

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Red Bull have struggled in Formula 1 this season and are no longer the favourite to win the Constructors’ Championship.

The Austrian team are second in the standings behind McLaren with six rounds to go and haven’t won a race since the Spanish Grand Prix in June.

Yet despite Red Bull struggling in recent months, Max Verstappen still holds a commanding 52-point lead in the Drivers’ Championship ahead of Lando Norris.

Red Bull are also competing amid uncertainty over their driver pairing for the 2025 season and after taking a step backwards this year.

Sergio Perez has found this season particularly difficult, failing to win a race despite Red Bull having a car that Verstappen has proven is capable of competing at the sharp end of the field.

The Mexican driver has been knocked out in the first stage of qualifying four times and in Q2 twice, making life very difficult in many Grand Prix.

Although he is struggling, Perez is likely to remain at Red Bull for at least the rest of the season despite rumours that the Mexico City Grand Prix will be his last event with the team.

Scott Mitchell-Malm explained on The Race’s YouTube channel that Red Bull are set to keep Perez as his potential replacement for next year is unclear.

Red Bull may keep Sergio Perez until the end of the season while they evaluate RB driver Liam Lawson

As the 2024 Formula 1 season draws to a close, there is no clear replacement for Perez to step in and partner Verstappen for the final few rounds.

Liam Lawson has been given an opportunity to impress at Red Bull’s sister team, Visa Cash App RB, for the final six races as he replaces Daniel Ricciardo.

READ MORE: Visa Cash App RB CEO tells Liam Lawson what he must do ‘even if we don’t like it’ ahead of his F1 return

The New Zealander could move to the main team in 2025 if he impresses, but Lawson will be under immediate pressure to score good results with Red Bull.

Mitchell-Malm explained that Red Bull are keeping a close eye on Lawson as Perez continues to struggle this year.

He said: “I don’t think Red Bull are going to fire Perez after Mexico. There’s been a suggestion that Perez is planning to retire and will announce that in Mexico.

“But I think Checo has already scotched that himself as that’s just nonsense. So, I think Perez is in that car for the rest of the season. I think what Red Bull are doing with Lawson is evaluating him over six races at RB to replace Perez for next year.”

Liam Lawson has already proven he can be competitive in Formula 1

Lawson has already made his debut in Formula 1, replacing the injured Ricciardo at last year’s Dutch Grand Prix. The 22-year-old performed well, too, before scoring his first points in Singapore.

The New Zealander was on a similar level of pace to his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, and Lawson looked at home in F1’s midfield.

But RB’s new driver will be on the back foot as Lawson races for the first time this season at the United States Grand Prix. He will also take a 10-place grid drop at COTA for an engine penalty.

He has proven to be adaptable and Lawson has shown that he has good speed in F1 previously, although he will have to learn some new circuits over the next six rounds.