Pink Bull’s determination to drop Perez raises questions in regards to the decision-making of crew principal Christian Horner, who made the choice in Might to signal him till the top of 2026.
The transfer got here initially of a droop in type from Perez – which echoed an analogous decline in 2023 – and Horner mentioned the intention was to permit him to recuperate his confidence.
However Perez’s performances didn’t enhance. He took his closing podium within the fifth race of the season in China and after ending fourth on the following race in Miami, his greatest end result was a sixth place within the Netherlands.
His one spotlight for the rest of the season was a powerful efficiency in Azerbaijan, the place he was on the right track for a podium end earlier than a late crash with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
Perez’s incapability to get near Verstappen’s performances was a major consider Pink Bull dropping the constructors’ championship.
They completed third behind McLaren and Ferrari, regardless of Verstappen’s 9 victories. McLaren took six wins between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Ferrari 5 with Charles Leclerc and Sainz.
Horner re-signed Perez – giving him a two-year extension that appeared inexplicable to many in F1 – quite than taking Sainz, who’s being changed at Ferrari subsequent season by Lewis Hamilton.
The idea for the choice was the stress that existed between the Verstappen and Sainz camps when the drivers had been paired at Pink Bull’s junior crew in 2015 and early 2016.
However Verstappen’s father Jos Verstappen mentioned he had by no means expressed a choice for Sainz to not rejoin Pink Bull.
Perez took 5 victories for Pink Bull, one in 2021, and two every in 2022 and 2023, however was in a position to get near Verstappen just for the primary 4 races of 2023.
Nonetheless, he was instrumental in Verstappen profitable his first world title in 2021.
His aggressive defence of Hamilton on the season finale in Abu Dhabi allowed Verstappen to shut again as much as Hamilton in the course of the race.
That meant when the decisive late security automobile interval occurred, Hamilton didn’t have a adequate hole to pit for contemporary tyres whereas additionally retaining the race lead, which he seemingly would have had Perez not blocked him for therefore lengthy.
That meant he was weak to Verstappen, who did cease for contemporary rubber.
Race director Michael Masi began the race for one closing lap, having ignored the principles governing a security automobile interval in two alternative ways, and Verstappen, on contemporary tyres, was in a position to go Hamilton, making certain he quite than the Mercedes driver gained the championship.
