F1 commentator Martin Brundle believes Sergio Perez won't be at the wheel of a Red Bull for the 2025 season.
Perez has struggled for form and consistency throughout F1 2024, leading Red Bull to tumble to third in the Constructors' Championship with three races to go.
Perez is under contract with Red Bull until the end of F1 2026, having received a contract extension during this season to give him confidence in his future.
But, having started the season well as he scored 85 points in the first five race weekends to place a strong second overall and consolidate Red Bull's lead in the Constructors' Championship, he has only scored a further 66 points in the 16 race weekends since.
His points total of 151 points pales compared to Max Verstappen's 393 – the disparity between the pair resulting in Red Bull falling behind McLaren and Ferrari in the closing stages of the title fight.
Speaking after the Mexico City Grand Prix, Perez's home race in which he endured a miserable weekend en route to being the last classified runner after being eliminated in Q1, Sky F1 broadcaster and former F1 driver Martin Brundle said his belief is that Perez is nearing the end of his time with Red Bull.
"I think it certainly is [his last Mexico City Grand Prix] in a Red Bull," Brundle said. "That would be my gut feeling…
"He's had a great career and I'm sure he'd like it to last a little bit longer. But we're seeing so many young guns coming into the teams now and doing a great job. And obviously Red Bull is staring third in the Constructors' Championship right in the face now.
"You can't afford, and I'm not saying this about Sergio, no team can afford a passenger. So, for 2025, they need both drivers in tip-top form, and unless he can do something miraculous in the next five weekends of Formula 1 racing, that won't be him."
Perez may be under contract for the next two seasons, which the Mexican insists is "watertight", but team boss Christian Horner and adviser Helmut Marko have both hinted that the time has come to make "difficult decisions" and that those decisions will be made after the season is complete – a position which seems at odds with the idea that the driver line-up is set in stone.
The second Red Bull team, VCARB, has a vacant cockpit for F1 2025, with Red Bull eyeing up the signing of Williams sensation Franco Colapinto. The Argentinean is understood to be a target to become a Red Bull driver, with the possibility of slotting in directly alongside Verstappen, but has also been linked with a possible shock switch to Alpine in place of the already-signed Jack Doohan.
However, recent VCARB promotee Liam Lawson is also a leading contender and is highly rated within the Red Bull hierarchy – the Kiwi recently made his 'full-time' F1 debut by replacing Daniel Ricciardo for the remainder of the season after the Singapore Grand Prix.
With all eyes on Perez and what Red Bull may do for F1 2025, Horner made his most pointed comments immediately following the race in Mexico, saying: "He [Perez] knows Formula 1 is a results-based business and, inevitably, when you're not delivering then the spotlight is firmly on.
"When anyone is underperforming, of course, there is always going to be scrutiny on that. As a team, we need to have both cars scoring points. That's the nature of F1.
"[Scrutiny] is constant. So it's always there. From a team's perspective, we're working with him as hard as we can to try and support him. I think we've done everything that we can to support Checo, and we'll continue to do so in Brazil next weekend. But there comes a point in time when you can only do so much."
