Red Bull F1’s Sergio Perez has been rumored to be losing his seat for what seems like years, but the two recently officially parted ways. In his place, newcomer Liam Lawson steps into the seat, which has never been a friendly spot on the grid with the team’s number-one driver, Max Verstappen.
Red Bull confirmed the news this morning, with team principal Christian Horner saying, “I would like to thank Checo (Perez) for all he has done for Oracle Red Bull Racing over the past four seasons. From the moment he joined in 2021 he proved himself to be an extraordinary team player, helping us to two Constructors’ titles and to our first 1-2 finish in the Drivers’ championship. His five wins, all on street circuits, were also a spectacular mark of his determination to always push to the limit. While Checo will not race for the Team next season, he will always be an extremely popular Team member and a treasured part of our history.”
Perez’s drives have been all over the map as the Red Bull car showed inconsistent performance at points during the 2024 season, but the bigger and more interesting conversation around his departure relates to the sponsorship dollars he brought to Red Bull. The team has reportedly received more than 100 million pounds from Mexican communications company Telmex, and Perez is massively popular in his home country of Mexico and other Latin American countries.
[Images: Jens Mommens, Jay Hirano, Michael Potts F1 via Shutterstock]
Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.
Source: The Truth About Cars
