It’s troublesome to recollect the final time ’s seat at was not underneath intense scrutiny and stress. Maybe firstly of this season, after 4 podiums within the first 5 races, and with the stance of Christian Horner’s juggernaut as the game’s No 1 outfit on monitor in little doubt in any respect. Now although, the sands have shifted.
With 5 races left in 2024, Crimson Bull are : 40 factors off McLaren in first however simply eight factors forward of Ferrari in third. , chasing a fourth-straight drivers’ title, has accrued over 70% of Crimson Bull’s factors himself. Perez, nevertheless, is a mammoth 204 factors behind his teammate, languishing eighth within the particular person desk.
It’s, by far, the largest margin between teammates within the sport. But nonetheless, the 34-year-old stays in his publish forward of his residence race in Mexico Metropolis this weekend. His 2021 podium on the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, along with his adoring father watching on, is undoubtedly a profession spotlight.
However will this yr be Perez’s last residence outing? The stress cooker is heating up, amid a run of type which reveals no signal of bettering. The one solace for Perez – a determine well-liked all through all sectors of the paddock – is that there isn’t a apparent alternative for him throughout the Crimson Bull ecosystem. He additionally continues to have the backing of his staff principal.
Nevertheless, even Horner’s tone appears to have . “We have to guarantee that with each of our drivers, there’s not an enormous hole between them as a result of you possibly can’t afford to have that,” he stated, previous to Austin when Perez failed to succeed in the ultimate session in qualifying.
With Daniel Ricciardo’s final month after spherical 18 in Singapore, you’d have been forgiven for considering Perez was taking an enormous sigh of aid. The favored Australian had been introduced again into Crimson Bull’s sister staff, RB, with the pure intention of seeing if he was able to changing into Verstappen’s teammate in 2025. Seems, he wasn’t.
However Ricciardo’s alternative, Liam Lawson, threw down an early marker on the Circuit of the Americas. Beginning behind the grid as a result of an engine penalty, the New Zealander – in a significantly weaker automotive – completed simply two spots behind Perez in ninth, securing two factors on his return. Crimson Bull commander-in-chief Helmut Marko has already mooted the prospect of Lawson stepping as much as the mothership subsequent yr.
After which there’s Yuki Tsunoda, who has been at RB since 2021 however nonetheless hasn’t been granted a possibility to associate Verstappen. The Japanese driver has, after a terrific begin to 2024, fallen away barely however continues to have the assist of Marko. Ex- race winner Johnny Herbert believes Tsunoda at Crimson Bull, although Horner stays sceptical.
However past Crimson Bull, Perez’s potential absence from the grid subsequent yr may have main ramifications for his residence race, which returned in 2015 after a 23-year hiatus. The Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix – renamed in 2021 to advertise the capital metropolis and emphasise the town authorities assist – has a contract with F1 for subsequent yr however no additional.
It’s whose offers run out in 2025, with F1 chief govt Stefano Domenicali open to completely different places internet hosting a race.
Would Perez’s absence from the grid influence the possibilities of a contract extension? It might be an element however, talking final yr, race managing director Federico Rodriguez insists it might not be decisive.
“We all know that Checo will not be going to be right here someday,” Rodriguez stated. “What we’re engaged on is to have the expertise work not solely round Checo however the entire sport.
“You may have a number of Checo followers, however you even have Crimson Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari or different groups. It could diminish the gross sales, however we all know that’s going to occur. So, we’re working laborious on the expertise for the attendees.
“I do know that we’re going to undergo if we lose Checo, however we’ve got to plan accordingly and account for that.”
Leisure group CIE now promotes the race and has attracted 400,000 spectators in every of the final two years. The old-school racetrack, with its well-known Foro Sol stadium part, additionally now hosts Method E however F1 races are sometimes routine affairs – with one main overtaking spot (the massive principal straight down into flip one) not conducive to fascinating wheel-to-wheel racing, the like of which we noticed in Austin on Sunday.
However very similar to the re-emergence of the Dutch Grand Prix amid Verstappen’s period of dominance, F1 with out Perez can be damaging to Mexico’s aura as a grand prix spectacle and will see it lose its spot on the calendar.
Perez himself, in his 14th-straight season within the sport, can be determined for a optimistic end result on Sunday. The results, for his future and the long-term prospects of his residence race, could possibly be seismic. If not, it feels as if the clock is ticking on his F1 profession.
