Red Bull has sacked Sergio Perez, with Liam Lawson touted as his replacement

Brutal, just brutal. Well, not really actually, but you know what we mean. Red Bull has officially terminated its deal with Sergio Perez, bringing the Mexican driver’s F1 career to an abrupt end. For the time being at least.

There’s no word yet on who his replacement will be, although it’s widely expected that Liam Lawson will be promoted from the junior RB squad, getting the nod over the more experienced Yuki Tsunoda. We shall see.

A joint statement from Red Bull and Perez read: “After four incredible seasons together, Oracle Red Bull Racing and Serio Perez have reached an agreement to part ways.

“During this time Checo has played a crucial role in securing multiple grand prix wins, countless podium finishes, and two constructors’ world championships, contributing significantly to the team’s most successful era in Formula 1.”

And Perez himself said: “I’m incredibly grateful for the past four years with Red Bull Racing and for the opportunity to race with such an amazing team. Driving for Red Bull has been an unforgettable experience, and I’ll always cherish the success we achieved together. We broke records, reached remarkable milestones, and I’ve had the privilege of meeting so many incredible people along the way.

“A big thank you to every person in the team from management, engineers and mechanics; catering, hospitality, kitchen, marketing and communications, as well as everyone at Milton Keynes. I wish you all the best for the future.

“It’s also been an honour to race alongside Max as a teammate all these years and to share in our success.

“A special thank you to the fans around the world, and especially to the Mexican fans for your unwavering support every day. We’ll meet again soon.” Let the Perez-to-Cadillac 2026 rumours commence forthwith!

Anyway, the sorta-expected but nonetheless gloomy news for Checo brings to an end an unbroken 14-year stint in F1, which started out with Sauber in 2011.

Perez bounced back after a disappointing one-year stint with McLaren in 2013, earning a reputation as an all-round safe pair of hands at Force India while stitching together a tapestry of unlikely podiums in what was normally an uncompetitive car.

And it was Perez’s legal action that triggered the sale of the team in 2018, safeguarding its future and thus saving hundreds of jobs at the same time. Mustn’t forget that. Eventually of course, it was renamed Racing Point (and eventually morphed into Aston Martin).

At the end of the 2020 season Perez was facing F1’s exit door, but in the penultimate round at the Sakhir Grand Prix he incredibly recovered from last place to take the chequered flag for the first time in his career. It was the catalyst for him to be offered the Red Bull drive ahead of the 2021 campaign, when the team demoted Alex Albon.

It’s fair to say that in their four years together as teammates, Perez was blown away by Max Verstappen, who has won four world titles and 53 races compared to Checo’s… five in the same period. Oof.

Red Bull would’ve been quite satisfied had Perez finished a close second or third to Verstappen on a regular basis, but in the last two seasons his form has absolutely tanked. After the Miami Grand Prix in May his best finish over the remainder of 2024 was sixth, and he was regularly knocked out in the first part of qualifying as his struggles with Red Bull’s car got worse.

Red Bull actually extended Perez's contract earlier this year, hoping the peace of mind would help him focus on driving. But there was seemingly no solution to his wayward performances, and Red Bull arguably lost the F1 constructors' championship to McLaren because of it.

So the writing was on the wall. Still, that can take nothing away from what’s been an otherwise fruitful career stuffed full of highlights and epic memories. Go well Checo, and good luck.