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Now that Daniel Ricciardo’s dismissal from the Red Bull junior team has been made official and the buzz surrounding Max Verstappen’s community service for swearing has subsided, the eyes of the Formula 1 paddock are once again turning to Sergio Perez’s seat at Red Bull.
Before the summer holidays, rumors swirled that Perez could be ousted mid-season as 2024 has shown just how big the gap is between him and his three-time World Drivers’ Championship-winning teammate, Max Verstappen. Perez currently sits eighth in the WDC championship points, with all six drivers of Red Bull’s biggest competitors of 2024 – McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes – separating him from Verstappen at the front of the pack.
This year’s races have made it clear that the RB20 race car is not as dominant as the RB19, and Verstappen’s continued success and performance has more to do with the driver than the machine. Meanwhile, Checo’s performance remains below expectations, both in qualifying and in the races.
There is pressure on Perez to stay on for the rest of the year as there are three North American races at the end of the F1 calendar: the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas; the Mexican Grand Prix in Mexico City, Mexico; and the recently added Las Vegas Grand Prix. Being from Mexico, Perez has built a huge fan base in the coveted North American market.
On Thursday, Sports illustrated‘s Fan Briefings reported rumors that Red Bull and Perez are teaming up to announce his retirement after the Mexican Grand Prix, his home race. If the plan comes to fruition, Red Bull hopes to regain some of the public favor by allowing a beloved veteran to leave the sport on much softer terms than was the case with the Ricciardo fiasco.
In a previous interview with Roldan Rodriguez, first reported by Dazn, Perez addressed rumors about his future, saying that as he pondered his retirement, he decided he couldn’t make that decision without one last try once.
“I’ve been thinking about it for the past six months, but it took me three seconds to make the decision. Ultimately, it would be the easy route, after so many years, to stop and give up a little bit. I would never do that have done.” I have forgiven myself,” Perez said.
Ultimately, it looks like we’ll be using another F1 break to discuss how Red Bull is treating their drivers in the midst of this tumultuous 2024 season.
Update, September 28: An earlier version of this story stated that Perez was the only North American driver in F1.
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