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The extent of Sergio Perez's decline was dramatic, and he must shoulder a lot of responsibility for that. But so must Red Bull for demanding Perez be more than he was probably ever meant to be.
Perez was a stop-gap solution when Red Bull hit trouble with its own talent pipeline: a driver (rightly) saved from the F1 scrapheap when his upper-midfield team, where he was performing well, ousted him for the declining Sebastian Vettel.
He was a great option for what Red Bull needed in December 2020. He was experienced, mentally robust, had something to prove and arrived with super commercial value. Perez was also never going to be a real problem alongside Max Verstappen.
The 2021 car didn't suit Perez - that era of Red Bull didn't work for anyone except Verstappen - but he still made a tangible contribution to Verstappen's title bid and 2022 ushered in a fresh chance.
As Red Bull's dominance grew in this rules era, Perez was all Red Bull needed competitively, ably supporting Red Bull's double title bid in 2022 and 2023 (although in 2023 Verstappen could have won both championships on his own).
But there were enough hints that, when the going got a little tough, he would disappear from view and cost Red Bull in a close fight.
In mid-2022 a run of two podiums in eight races meant he slipped from 21 points behind to over 100 points adrift. Four podiums from 15 in 2023 - that all-conquering season of sheer Verstappen/Red Bull dominance - was arguably even more alarming.
Unsurprisingly, a similar mid-season dip occurred again in 2024. Only this time it was much more pronounced as Red Bull's car advantage rapidly disappeared. And unlike previous years, there was no late-season rebound. What happened in 2024 was too costly for Red Bull to do nothing and let a repeat happen next year, when its challenge will probably be even greater.
But is it Perez's fault that, four seasons into a drive he never would have had in the first place without unusual circumstances, he's not been good enough for a top team? Or is it Red Bull's for letting it get this far?
The move worked out for both for as long as either could have reasonably hoped. Perez became a multiple race winner and played a good role in some key Red Bull successes.
Full story: Perez's Red Bull exit official - but no replacement named
Keeping him as far as 2024 was justifiable on the grounds of car performance and Perez, over a whole season, doing enough. But Red Bull's awarding of a new contract running to the end of 2026 back in June, when Perez's 2024 decline had already just started, was baffling.
Ultimately, Red Bull has been caught out by its own hubris. It thought that Perez would be enough for a little longer, that it would get away with not solving the second driver problem properly.
Maybe there is no real answer to that while Verstappen's around, but Perez was never going to be it. He was a solution to a specific problem at a specific time. Now that time has passed - although whether Red Bull has picked the right solution to him is another matter entirely.
