Sergio Perez says Red Bull “regrets” axing him from F1 2025 line-up
While Red Bull was unhappy with Sergio Perez’s results last year, his replacements have fared even worse.
Sergio Perez says he is certain that Red Bull now “regrets” its decision to drop him from its Formula 1 team in 2025.
Perez had signed a two-year contract extension with Red Bull in June last year, but the deal was abruptly terminated in December as the team opted to promote Liam Lawson from its sister squad.
Red Bull’s decision was motivated by a desire to have a competent second driver in the car, with Perez’s poor form contributing to the team dropping to third place in the constructors’ championship.
However, the Mexican's departure has only exposed the weaknesses of the Red Bull F1 package, with Lawson struggling to the point that he was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda after just two rounds in 2025.
Even the highly-rated Tsunoda hasn’t been able to extract much performance out of the car, scoring just seven points across eight races. By contrast, teammate Max Verstappen won twice during the same stretch.
Asked if he thinks Red Bull owes him an apology, Perez told Dede el Paddock: “No.
“They made certain decisions because of the immense pressure—pressure that they themselves helped create.
“But I know, deep down, they regret it. And I know that from a very reliable source.
“Still, what can you do? You move on. It’s tough. I have very good friends there, and people might think I take pleasure in what happened - but no.”
Although Verstappen sealed his fourth consecutive drivers’ title last year, Red Bull’s form had been waning for quite some time already.
This year, the energy drinks giant has slipped to fourth in the constructors’ standings, while Verstappen has written off his chances of winning another title despite running third behind McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
Perez attributes Red Bull’s slump in form to the departure of design legend Adrian Newey, who stepped away from F1 duties in May 2024 to focus on the RB17 hypercar, before leaving the company entirely in March to join Aston Martin.
“We had a great team. In the end, it slowly fell apart, but we really did have something special, during one of the most competitive eras in F1,” Perez explained.
“We didn’t dominate an era like Mercedes, where they had a massive engine advantage. In our case, the performance gap was minimal, and we still built a powerhouse.
“When Adrian left - that’s when the problems really started.”
