Red Bull’s decision to fire Perez raises questions about the decision-making process of team principal Christian Horner, who in May decided to sign him to a contract until the end of 2026.
The move came at the beginning of a decline in Perez’s form – reflecting a similar decline in 2023 – and Horner said the intention was to allow him to regain his confidence.
However, Perez’s performances did not improve. His last podium came in the fifth race of the season in China, and after taking fourth place in the next race in Miami, his best result was sixth place in the Netherlands.
His only highlight for the remainder of the season was a strong performance in Azerbaijan, where he was on track to take the podium before a late collision with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
Perez’s inability to come close to Verstappen’s achievements was a significant factor in Red Bull losing the Constructors’ Championship.
Despite Verstappen’s nine wins, they finished third behind McLaren and Ferrari. McLaren took six wins between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, while Ferrari took five between Charles Leclerc and Sainz.
Horner re-signed Perez – giving him a two-year extension that many in F1 found inexplicable – instead of hiring Sainz, who will be replaced at Ferrari next season by Lewis Hamilton.
The basis for this decision was the tension that existed between the Verstappen and Sainz camps when the drivers paired in the Red Bull junior team in 2015 and early 2016.
However, Verstappen’s father, Jos Verstappen, said he had never expressed a preference for Sainz not to join Red Bull.
Perez took five wins for Red Bull, one in 2021 and two each in 2022 and 2023, but was only able to get close to Verstappen in the first four races of 2023.
However, he played a key role in Verstappen winning his first world title in 2021.
His aggressive defense against Hamilton in the season finale in Abu Dhabi allowed Verstappen to close in on the seven-time champion midway through the race.
This meant that when the crucial moment of the safety car came in late in the race, Hamilton did not have enough of a break to pit for new tires while maintaining the race lead, which would likely have happened had Perez not blocked him for so long.
This meant he was vulnerable to attacks from Verstappen, who stopped for fresh rubber.
Race director Michael Masi started the race with one last lap, ignoring the safety car rules in two different ways, and Verstappen, on fresh tires, was able to overtake Hamilton, securing the championship victory – he, not the Mercedes driver.
