Red Bull team principal Christian Horner made the decision to sack the experienced Sergio Perez and has struggled to get performances out of his replacements this season

Red Bull F1 team principal Christian Horner speaking to F1 TV in the paddock
Christian Horner has struggled to get performances out of Red Bull’s second driver(Image: PA)

Sergio Perez believes that Red Bull regret dropping him from the driver roster last season amid continued struggles for Max Verstappen’s team-mate. Perez was brutally axed by Red Bull in December midway through a dreadful campaign and was then unable to find a new seat at a rival manufacturer.

Red Bull have struggled with his replacements, with Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda failing to live up to their billing. Lawson buckled under the pressure and was replaced by Tsunoda, who sits a lowly 15th in the standings, having taken just 10 points from as many races this season.

Perez is a hugely experienced driver but remains on the outside of the F1 grid, despite holding talks with Alpine over a potential return in 2026. It seems he holds something of a grudge against Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, who was ultimately the man to make the decision.

The 35-year-old has discussed the situation around his axing and clearly feels let down by the way Red Bull went about it. “It was a crucial point because I had signed a contract in Monaco and everyone was talking about my future,” Perez told the El Desde podcast.

“It would have been very easy for the team to protect me, but that did not happen. No one talked about anything else but me.”

And asked if Red Bull should apologize to him, Perez replied: “No. Ultimately, that’s how sport is. Decisions were made because they put too much pressure on themselves. I know that deep down they regret it. I have it from a very reliable source.”

Horner has not publicly admitted that he regrets sacking Perez, but the fact he has since been forced to swap out Lawson for Tsunoda, who is also struggling, suggests he is not happy with his decision. He was non-committal when asked recently if Red Bull could make another driver change before the year is out.

Sergio Perez
Sergio Perez was sacked after struggling last season(Image: Song Haiyuan/Getty Images)

“I think I’m going to take a leaf out of Flavio’s [Briatore, Alpine boss] book and say, ‘I don’t want to answer it’,” he laughed.

He then added: “Look, it’s early days for Yuki. He’s still settling in. He’s been in Q3, scored points, he’s scored points from the pit lane. He’s had a few incidents as well, so he has a long way to go. We’ll decide. We’ve got plenty of time on our side.”

Perez spent four seasons racing for Red Bull, winning five races and standing on the podium dozens of times. His best year came in 2023, when he finished second in the championship behind Verstappen to secure a first-ever one-two finish in Red Bull’s history.