Why is Sergio Perez Still Driving for Red Bull?

Formula One is not the first place you'd think to look when trying to find some of the world's most inexplicable phenomena. Some people wonder how Stonehenge formed. Others ask if ghosts are real. Many want to know whether it's a real Sasquatch caught on camera or someone in a costume. For F1 fans, though? It's all about how Sergio Perez kept his Red Bull Racing seat in 2024.

Not too long ago, Perez had transformed an anonymous midfield career on the brink of ending to being a crucial part of a championship fight at the front. He even picked up a few wins when his teammate faltered between 2021 and 2023. 2024 has witnessed another transformation, but this time, it's not one for the better, as his descent back to mediocrity comes with a multi-million dollar cost.

Okay, perhaps that's quite an exaggerative introduction to the Perez problem, but the future of the Mexican driver at one of F1's powerhouse teams seems untenable. Every season since he joined Red Bull in 2021 had people wondering which hotshot junior driver would inevitably replace him. Yet the Milton Keynes team has kept Perez through his highs and lows. The problem for his defenders in 2024 is the lack of highs that justify his position.

Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon must be wondering what they could've done differently to have remained with Red Bull for the team's return to championship-conquering glory. The two had backing by the energy drink giant through their junior career with the sole target of becoming a race-winning driver at Red Bull Racing. For Gasly, a dozen races were all he was given to shine, while Albon had the 'luxury' of 26 before being discarded.

Perez will head into the 2025 season opener at Melbourne with 86 races in Red Bull colors. Unlike Gasly or Albon, he hasn't graduated from the Red Bull Junior Team with the youthful promise of untapped potential. In fact, it's the opposite – Perez is set to be the fourth oldest racer after Daniel Ricciardo's mid-2024 departure and Valtteri Bottas losing his seat at Sauber. Only Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, and Nico Hulkenberg will have dates of birth earlier than his.

What Perez does boast, which his predecessors did not, are victories for Red Bull. He grabbed a winner's trophy in his sixth race in Azerbaijan, albeit only after Verstappen's infamous tire blowout, but fulfilling his duty as a number two driver to pick up the pieces. More wins followed in 2022 and 2023 when Red Bull boasted the best car on the grid by some margin.

However, with the team facing increased competition in 2024, Perez's results have significantly dropped. Verstappen had scored eight victories by the time F1 ended its pan-American tripleheader, but Perez had just three podium finishes to his name in that same 21-race period. The delta in results, silverware, and points between the two drivers cost Red Bull the lead in the World Constructors' Championship.

Sadly for Perez, 2024's slump in results looks more like what we once saw with two other drivers whose careers Verstappen nearly destroyed. Looking through the data helps illustrate this drop-off in performance even more. 2021 saw Perez pick up 9.04 points per weekend, 2022 peaked with 14.5, and 2023 was just behind at 13.6. 2024's return is just 7.5.

Even more damning is the increase in Sprint races, meaning there were additional points available in 2023 and 2024 than the best Perez season in 2022 when F1 only hosted three Sprint events. If we focus on his post-China podium-less run in 2024, that drops down to a woeful 4.7 points per race weekend between Miami and Sao Paulo.

For comparison, Gasly's dozen races for Red Bull in 2019 netted the Frenchman an average of 5.25 points per round. Albon's 2019 tally after replacing Gasly came in at 8.4 points/weekend for Red Bull in his rookie season in the sport. That lowered to 6.2 in 2020, a value low enough that Team Principal Christian Horner believed dropping Albon in favor of Perez was the best decision for his squad.

There are financial arguments that can't be overlooked when dissecting Red Bull's decision-making. Perez has the backing of Carlos Slim, once the wealthiest man in the world, and the sponsorship dollars Slim's companies bring in. Gasly and Albon were brought to the sport by Red Bull, effectively costing the company money by needing to back them to reach the top. Perez carrying income to the team where any previous Red Bull graduates didn't will play a part in the Mexican's longevity.

Yet there must be a time when the economics of having Perez don't make sense. His poor 2024 campaign has Red Bull trailing in the teams' standings, meaning a loss of prize money. Precise figures are tricky to track down, but the team's reported reward for their 2023 P1 finish was $140m. P3, where Red Bull currently sits in 2024, received $122m. To some, that's 18 million reasons to get rid of Perez. If Mercedes hadn't had such inconsistency over 2024, Red Bull might've slipped further, and Perez might've cost more.

It's not like there aren't other options. Daniel Ricciardo, Liam Lawson, and Yuki Tsunoda are all there, looking to jump into victory-contending machinery but get overlooked. Even rumors that Carlos Sainz or 2024 surprise package Franco Colapinto could make a sensational switch to Red Bull did the social media rounds with some semblance of believability. Yet Red Bull continues to back Perez for one of the best seats in the sport. It defies belief.

Perhaps we'll find out what transpired behind the scenes at Milton Keynes one day in someone's autobiography. Did Perez help develop the car better than anyone else? Is Mexico secretly the energy drink's best market? Has Perez got the world's best lawyer drafting his contract? Until then, wild theories are the only way to explain his continued presence in a top team. Forget Bigfoot, people! Sergio Perez remaining at Red Bull Racing is now the world's biggest unsolved mystery.