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Sergio Perez has long rebutted questions over his Red Bull Formula 1 future and did so again in the lead-up to the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix even as it seems ever more likely that it will be his last race with the team.
But he also gave a warning for whoever occupies his seat next.
The Race understands that despite Perez having a contract for next season, Red Bull has resolved to make a change for 2025 and it is now just a matter of deciding how to handle his exit.
Red Bull junior drivers Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda are vying for Perez’s seat as soon as 2025 but Lawson is far more likely to get the nod.
Though Perez continued to insist he will see out his contract, he gave a pointed answer when asked about the prospect of a young driver becoming Max Verstappen’s team-mate at Red Bull.
“Being team-mates with Max at Red Bull, for a young driver I wouldn’t like to be in those shoes if I'm honest,” Perez replied.
“People cannot underestimate the level of challenge that there is in this seat.”
That followed a previous answer defending his record alongside Verstappen and also hinting that others might not fare as well up against the world champion at Red Bull as they expect.
“It's an incredible challenge,” said Perez. “I knew what I signed for when I came here. It's an incredible challenge. And a challenge that people should not underestimate - the level of experience, the level of capacity, of mental strength that you need to cope with this.”
RB driver Lawson however seemed to relish that prospect.
“I think it would be the biggest challenge to go up against Max,” he said. “In a way it's the best seat on the grid to be in. You get to learn directly off the best guy. To have access to his data every single session. To see exactly how he's performing.
“For me as a driver who's come into Formula 1, and is developing, it's the best possible situation for me to be in. It would be what I would love. To have that data is what's going to make me better.”
Tsunoda, who has seen Daniel Ricciardo come and go this season while outscoring Lawson by four points over the Kiwi’s five-race stint at RB, also made no secret of his desire to take Perez's seat - though his chances are more slender.
“To my team-mates it's quite clear… that I should get a chance, but I don't know, up to them,” said Tsunoda - who Red Bull is still believed to have doubts over.
The deficit at Red Bull is clear: Perez is losing the team-mate battle against Verstappen by a significant margin in qualifying, races, and sprints, and is only eighth in the world championship with 152 points to his championship-winning team-mate’s 429.
Perez was defiant over his role in Red Bull’s constructors’ standings position. It is out of the picture in Abu Dhabi and down in third with a 59-point deficit to leader McLaren.
“Of course I take responsibility but also I don't feel it's fully all down to one person. I'm obviously part of a big organisation, a big team and it's very unfortunate that we did not fight any harder for the constructors’,” said Perez.
He was far more stoic about his contract situation at Red Bull despite being on thinner ice than ever and having picked up only nine points compared to Verstappen’s 74 in the last five events.
“Nothing has changed since before in terms of what I've said for the entire year. I’ve got a contract for next year and I will be driving for Red Bull next year,” said Perez.
To a further question, he reiterated: “I already said mate, nothing further to add. I have a contract for next year so nothing further to add.”
Perez added: “I still feel like I have a few years in me in the sport at this level, and, for sure, I want to finish with Red Bull.”
Neither of Perez’s potential replacements have heard anything about their futures. Lawson said it was “the same as normal” in Abu Dhabi, but his personal prognosis was more positive than Tsunoda’s.
The Japanese driver said he would be “surprised” to see someone else take the 2025 Red Bull seat but backtracked on that quickly, adding that it is “hard to predict” what Red Bull’s decision makers are veering towards.
“I don't know, because I met Christian [Horner] and he said, ‘I'm keeping an eye on you, you don't really forget’, or something like that, I guess.
“I wouldn't say, necessarily, I completely got blocked by them… I don't know what they're feeling in their true head, inside the heart, but that's what I get told.”
The Honda-backed driver said his manufacturer affiliation ought not to matter with regards to his future in the Red Bull camp as Honda is heading for Aston Martin after next year. Ironically, he echoed Perez’s stance on having a contract signed.
“I don't think, to be honest, Red Bull is concerned with the Honda situation. And because they have a contract with me beyond 2026… I don't think the reason that they didn't want to put me in the Red Bull or whatever is [affected] by the Honda thing, to be honest, in my perspective, otherwise it doesn't really make sense. So, yeah, I don't think so.”
While Perez has offered this line of defensive answers before, he has been fielding questions over his future for months - and suffered a significant slump in performance after scoring four podiums in the first five races.
The veteran issued a timid rallying cry to his Red Bull team.
“This season was looking fantastic. Unfortunately, it took a U-turn. We went south very early and we lost some direction. Then the season started to get harder and harder. That's an unfortunate bit. But I'm still optimistic and confident that we can turn things around.
“I think it's just important to stay in it together, because, like I said, the season hasn't been the greatest but at the end of the day there's a reason why they renewed me and they know that I still can do it and that's an important factor.”
Another poor showing in Abu Dhabi will make his case even more brittle. And a good showing may even already be too late.
