Abu Dhabi, Dec 7 After a disappointing season for Sergio Perez, which effectively saw the team drop out of the hunt to win their third consecutive Constructors’ title, Red Bull has decided to replace the 34-year-old with RB racer Liam Lawson in the next season.
According to a report by Motorsports.com, Red Bull have already decided to replace Perez with the New Zealand driver and are currently working on a plan to release the six-time race winner with talks of appointing him as the team's ambassador.
The move not only brings the question of Lawson’s capabilities as a driver, given he will be joining one of the fastest teams on the grid, but also outlines the snub of Yuki Tsunoda who has been with Red Bull’s sister team, VISA Cash App RB F1 Team, since 2021.
Question marks remain over what will happen to Perez once that chequered flag has flown in Abu Dhabi – with Horner confirming that he was set to discuss the Mexican’s future following the conclusion of the season.
“Obviously, Checo is our driver, he remains our driver, contracted to the team,” said Horner. “And obviously, this season hasn't gone to anyone's plan, particularly with Checo's performance and since Monaco, it's been very, very tough for him. And so inevitably, once we get this race out of the way, we'll sit down and discuss the future.
“But Checo has been a very important part of our team,” he added. “There's huge respect for Checo within the team and nobody likes to see him struggling like the way he has. And, you know, we'll sit down and discuss things after the season,” Horner was quoted as saying by Formula 1's official website.
Earlier this year in June, following a solid start to the season for Perez, Red Bull announced that they had extended Perez’s contract until 2026. However, following the announcement, Perez has added just 45 points to his tally.
Perez also goes into the Abu Dhabi weekend as the only driver out of the top four teams of McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes yet to take a victory this season – while his underperformance has seen Red Bull fall out of contention for the 2024 constructors’ championship.
Horner also reflected on the decision to offer Perez the contract extension claiming it was the right decision at the time.
“Obviously at the time, Sergio was performing extremely well. I think he had four podiums in the first five races. And in order to settle his mind and extend that run of form for the rest of the season, we elected to go early, which obviously didn't work. So, that's just life sometimes.
“And I think Checo (Perez), you have to look beyond this year for the contribution that he's made to our team. He's been a great team player. He's a great person. He's extremely popular within the team. He's worked very hard over the four years that he's been with us. And he's played a vital role in the constructors' championships that we've won, the five Grand Prix victories that he had in our car,” he added.
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