‘I know from a VERY good source!’ Mexican says team regrets dropping him as Lawson lasted just TWO races before being demoted
Sergio Perez has sensationally claimed Red Bull are “very sorry” they axed him – revealing he has insider knowledge that the team deeply regrets dropping him after watching his replacements flounder.
The 35-year-old Mexican, who was unceremoniously dumped in December despite having a signed contract through 2025, made the explosive revelation during a rare media appearance on the Spanish-language podcast Desde el Paddock.
“I know that deep down they are very sorry, I know that from a very good source,” Perez declared, lifting the lid on the chaos that has engulfed Red Bull since his departure.
Replacement disaster
Perez’s bombshell comes as Red Bull’s driver crisis deepens, with the team already on its SECOND replacement in just eight races of the 2025 season.
Liam Lawson, the young Kiwi promoted as Perez’s successor, lasted a humiliating TWO point-less races before being demoted back to sister team Racing Bulls.
Yuki Tsunoda was then hastily promoted but has also struggled desperately, scoring just seven points in eight races – a far cry from the consistency Perez brought during his four years at the team.
Contract betrayal
The Mexican revealed his fury at how Red Bull handled his exit, despite signing a two-year extension at the Monaco Grand Prix in May 2024.
“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,” Perez said.
“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.”
‘They created the pressure’
Perez didn’t hold back in his criticism of Red Bull’s role in his downfall, accusing the team of creating the very pressure that led to his poor form.
“They made certain decisions because of the immense pressure – pressure that they themselves helped create,” he revealed.
The Mexican finished eighth in the 2024 championship – his worst result in four years with Red Bull – but insists the team contributed to his struggles by failing to shield him from constant speculation.
Newey exodus sparked collapse
In a damning assessment, Perez pinpointed Adrian Newey’s departure as the moment Red Bull’s dominance began to crumble.
“When Adrian left – that’s when the problems really started,” he said. “We had a great team. In the end, it slowly fell apart, but we really did have something special.”
The design genius left Red Bull in May 2024 to focus on the RB17 hypercar before joining Aston Martin in March 2025, taking his aerodynamic wizardry with him.
‘I charged them for six!’
In a moment of levity during the explosive interview, Perez joked about his time at Red Bull when corrected that he’d spent four years, not six, with the team.
“Well, I charged them for six!” he laughed, suggesting his hefty exit package may have softened the blow of his departure.
Verstappen praise
Despite the acrimony, Perez was gracious about his former teammate Max Verstappen, who has won four consecutive world titles.
“He’s an amazing driver and deserves all his success,” Perez said. But he also deserves a competitive car.”
The comment appears to be a subtle dig at Red Bull’s 2025 challenger, which has seen the team slip to fourth in the constructors’ standings despite Verstappen’s brilliance.
Cadillac calling?
Perez remains determined to return to F1, with his new management team actively pursuing opportunities.
The new Cadillac entry for 2026 is his primary target, with the American team considering a shortlist that includes Valtteri Bottas, Mick Schumacher and Zhou Guanyu.
There has also been communication with Alpine as the French team evaluates its driver options for the future.
No apology needed
When asked if Red Bull owed him an apology, Perez remained diplomatic despite the revelations.
“No. I mean, at the end of the day, that’s how the sport is,” he said. “Still, what can you do? You move on. It’s tough. I have very good friends there.”
But he couldn’t resist adding: “People might think I take pleasure in what happened – but no.”
Red Bull in freefall
The statistics speak for themselves: Red Bull has tumbled from constructors’ champions to fourth place, with both Lawson and Tsunoda unable to handle what Perez describes as a car specifically tailored to Verstappen’s unique driving style.
“I had to drive the Red Bull with full conscious effort,” Perez explained. When the car’s development took that direction, even Max and I told them about it, they still went that way. And it just became harder and harder.”
As Red Bull’s regrets mount and their driver merry-go-round continues to spin, Perez watches from the sidelines – perhaps with a wry smile, knowing his “very good source” has confirmed what many suspected: Red Bull made a massive mistake.
Image credit: Photo by Steffen Prößdorf (user Stepro), taken on 25 August 2024 during the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Image URL: View on Wikimedia Commons
