Revealed: The race that set Sergio Perez on path to Red Bull exit

Sunday May 7th 2023.

On the face of it, Max Verstappen passing Sergio Perez to take victory in a race is nothing noteworthy – but there was something different about the 2023 edition of Miami Grand Prix.

Time up for Sergio Perez at Red Bull

Of all the signings made in Red Bull’s history, Sergio Perez’s was the most unique. Aside from David Coulthard who joined at the team’s inception, Perez was the only outside hire. A necessity created by Red Bull burning through academy products Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon.

It was also a marriage of fortune. His current employer, Racing Point, had lured four-time World Champion to the team as they rebranded to Aston Martin and with the owner’s son in the other seat, it was Perez that lost out.

Having gone from a likely future out of the sport, the F1 veteran got a seat in one of the most dominant cars on the grid and in 2021, he was given a clear mandate – do everything you can to win Max Verstappen the title.

Checo’s efforts as wingman were praised both inside and outside the team with his ultimate act holding up Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi to put Verstappen back in contention. He finished fourth that season, his joint-personal best, and Perez seemed to have found his perfect role.

Perfect in every aspect but one – Perez backed himself to win the title. It is no crime to believe you are capable of such success but sometimes it is better to accept a secondary role when you are going up against a generational talent.

2022 by all measures was a great year for Perez. He secured 11 podiums, won two races and was part of his first successful Constructors’ Championship but still he hungered for more.

Fighting talk from his camp over the winter break evolved into an excellent start to 2023. Two victories and a P2 put him on 87 points after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, just six points behind Verstappen and seemingly like a genuine title contender.

And then Miami happened.

A smackdown, a reestablishment of the pecking order, a demolition. Whatever you want to call it, Sergio Perez’s downfall at Red Bull can be traced back to that day in Miami.

Verstappen started ninth, Perez was on pole but over the next 57 laps we witnessed a masterclass of driving from the Dutchman. Car after car after car was passed until lap 47 when Perez had the bright yellow nose of his team-mate in his rear view mirrors.

A normal overtake may not have had such a long-lasting effect but this was not a normal overtake. Yes there was a tyre difference but the ease in which Verstappen moved past his team-mate was astonishing.

There was no battle, no fight, no wheel to wheel racing. Verstappen moved past Perez as if he was not there and from then, never looked back.

The story of what happened to Verstappen next is well known. More titles followed, complete with the most dominant season ever for a driver; but for Perez, it was also a turning point.

Rarely has a title bid been so utterly demolished, so irreversibly destroyed. Perez went from a genuine title contender to a driver bereft of confidence and his results plummeted. Perez never won another race and his podium ratio went to 22%.

It was the start of a descent down a very slippery slope for Perez, one that saw an experienced driver making the mistakes of a rookie. There are endless statistics to show how far off Perez has been from Verstappen but none more so glaring than the 285-point deficit between the pair this season.

Perez went from the perfect wingman to a problem for Red Bull. A ‘Hail Mary’ attempt to restore some confidence came in the form of a two-year extension in June but that has turned into an unwise gamble.

Perez’s continued underperformance no longer became a newsworthy topic, an expected norm on a race weekend. One by one, drivers from other teams began to overtake him until he found himself eighth in the standings.

More on Sergio Perez’s Red Bull departure

Red Bull issue update on future driver line-up after Perez

Christian Horner sends Sergio Perez message after Red Bull exit confirmed

Checo may have been a well-liked member of the Red Bull group and his substantial backing made him hard to say goodbye to, but his position was simply untenable.

Red Bull did not just lose a title they dominated the season before, they finished third. Verstappen on his own would have finished fifth in the Constructors’ standings ,meaning blame was only ever heading one way.

The departure has been billed as Perez’s own choice but it is very much a jump before you are pushed move. Red Bull simply could not afford a passenger again in 2025, despite the income he brings in.

As for what’s next for Perez, that may take some working out. In the same way that Daniel Ricciardo’s loss of confidence took away his ability, there may still be a good driver in Perez somewhere but it became increasingly obvious that would never resurface under the spotlight of Red Bull and in the shadow of Verstappen.

Perez joins the long list of team-mates vanquished by the Dutchman and the team’s delay to act means a 22-year-old rookie is next to be fed to the lion.

Read next: Five possible paths for Sergio Perez with Red Bull announcement made