Spending four years under one of Formula One’s most prestigious teams is no mean feat. And Sergio Perez did that when he joined Red Bull in 2021 as an outside hire. He immediately turned into a great partner for multi-time champion Max Verstappen. Perez finished 4th in the first season after holding off Lewis Hamilton to allow Verstappen the lead in Abu Dhabi. However, even good partnerships crumble if one entity loses his mojo – and Perez lost his in the 2023 Miami Grand Prix.

Although Perez started from the pole, his teammate smoothly overtook him over 57 laps. That loss without the whisper of a fight marked the Mexican driver’s downfall in Red Bull. What followed was a demolished title bid and a descent down a slippery slope for Perez. That ultimately led to a parting of ways – as his team chief inadvertently admitted.

Sergio Perez’s numbers brought him down with them

During his first three years with the Milton Keynes outfit, Sergio Perez dazzled. He finished fourth, third, and second, and clinched five Grand Prix wins on street circuits. Helping Red Bull win two constructors’ championships, Perez proved to be a perfect partner to now 4-time F1 champion Max Verstappen. However, Red Bull’s rivals caught up this season, and Perez’s difficulties to stay on par with the RB20 proved costly. The team lost the constructors’ title bid after Azerbaijan when McLaren and Ferrari started their fight. Eventually, Perez finished 8th in the drivers’ standings – a whopping 285 points behind Verstappen.

So the grim rumors finally turned into reality recently. Sergio Perez officially signed off from Red Bull, despite signing a two-year contract extension in June. Christian Horner, Red Bull principal, attempted to explain why that was overturned. “At the time he’d had four podiums in five races, it was a logical extension to remove speculation, of which there was already too much around the team.” He added in seemingly sugarcoated terms: “Every contract has performance clauses and criteria, it didn’t make any difference to this decision for Sergio to step away and take a sabbatical.”

Yet immediately after, Horner could not veil the truth anymore. He admitted that Sergio Perez’s performance gap ultimately blocked Red Bull’s path from the constructors’ title that McLaren landed. “In hindsight, McLaren did a great job. But at the end of the day, we won more races, we had more poles, we won four sprint races, more than any other team, and we won the drivers’ championship with two races to go. Unfortunately we had a 280-point deficit between our drivers, of course, that became quite expensive in terms of the constructors’ championship.”

As Sergio Perez sees his way out, his replacement is already getting ready.

Another outside hire on the block

Red Bull now has two options to fish from – Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson, both of whom currently drive for Red Bull’s feeder team RB. Carlos Sainz also appeared to be on the cards after Lewis Hamilton was confirmed to be replacing him in Ferrari. However, now, Tsunoda looks like the strongest option. The driver from the Land of the Rising Sun is a force to reckon with. He has won several championships with Honda, including the JAF Japan F4 East Series in 2017 and the F4 Japanese Championship in 2018. Recently, Tsunoda undertook his first Red Bull test in Abu Dhabi. He completed a total of 127 laps behind the wheel of Max Verstappen’s title-winning F1 2024 car.

Honda’s president, Koji Watanabe threw his weight behind supporting Tsunoda’s F1 dreams. Now even Red Bull’s chief seems optimistic. Horner narrowed down Sergio Perez’s replacement to either Tsunoda or Lawson: “Now, we have all of the information we need, it’ll be a choice between Yuki and Liam and both have got strong credentials. We tested Yuki recently in Abu Dhabi, had a chance to work with the engineer team, while Liam has tested a lot with us and driven well. Considering all of that. We’ll conclude in the coming days.”

Tsunoda spoke about how he felt after his practice, reflecting that Red Bull’s main area of focus was his feedback and behavior as a driver. “I heard a lot about how impressed they were, particularly with my feedback,” the 24-year-old said. “That area was a key target for me. I believe Red Bull already understands that my speed isn’t much of an issue. Instead, what they’re more focused on is things like my feedback, my behavior within the team, and how I conduct myself in the car. They probably saw those areas as the biggest unknowns.” 2024 was Tsunoda’s most impressive season so far, notching up a career-high 9 top-10 finishes, so it’s no surprise Red Bull is optimistic to work with the Japanese driver.

Evidently, Red Bull is swiftly making up for Sergio Perez’s exit. As the Mexican driver goes out, let us see what the future holds for him.