Sergio Perez breaks silence to hit out at Red Bull after F1 exit

Sergio Perez has come out swinging over the lack of protection given to him by Red Bull before his unceremonious exit.

The team announced over the winter that the veteran driver would be replaced by Liam Lawson (although Lawson's time driving opposite Max Verstappen was short-lived), and Perez has now criticised the team's handling of his exit.

“In the end, that's how the sport is. Decisions were made because there was too much pressure that they themselves ended up creating,” Perez said during an appearance on the Desde el Paddock podcast.

“I had a signed contract in Monaco, but from the next race onwards, everyone was talking about my future even though I already had a signed contract.

“It would have been easy for the team to protect me and say, 'You know what? We have a driver signed for the next two years'. But that wasn't the case. From then on, no one talked about anything other than Red Bull race after race.

“In the end, there was a lot of pressure on my side of the garage...it was putting a lot of pressure on the engineers, on everyone involved, and I think in the end that ended up costing us a lot."

READ MORE: F1 champ Max Verstappen tipped for Red Bull exit ahead of 2026

Were Red Bull right to axe Perez?

Over the course of his Red Bull career, Perez earned five race wins and played his role as number two driver perfectly to Max Verstappen, earning him a contract renewal in June 2024.

However, as the season progressed, the Mexican driver slipped further behind Verstappen, and as the pressure mounted he continued to make costly errors in qualifying and the race, resulting in a drop to eighth in the drivers’ championship.

Despite Perez's exit Red Bull continue to have an issue with their second seat, with neither Lawson or Tsunoda able to consistently score points in 2025.

The Mexican continues to actively look for an entry back into the sport, and Perez has been linked to new team Cadillac ahead of their F1 debut in 2026.

Perez not only brings with him race winning pedigree and insight from the operations of one F1’s most successful teams, but also a raft of sponsors such as KitKat and Heineken, making him an attractive candidate for a fledgling F1 team.

The 35-year-old will face competition from other drivers seeking a return to the grid however, with Valtteri Bottas also hoping to make a comeback alongside Mick Schumacher.

READ MORE: F1 champion announces RETIREMENT plans

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