Sergio Perez: I've been told Red Bull regret axing me
Pérez was dropped by Red Bull after only finishing eighth last year in the drivers' standings, while his team-mate Max Verstappen stormed to a fourth world title.
The 35-year-old Mexican, who The Times reported is in talks to join new team Cadillac next season, was then replaced by Liam Lawson for 2025 — but the New Zealander lasted only two races before Yuki Tsunoda was promoted in his place.
It has become apparent, given all those drivers' struggles, that the Red Bull car is temperamental to drive, and only Verstappen is truly comfortable in it. Even he has demanded more from it, although some of the balance issues appear to have been partly remedied.
Tsunoda has struggled to score points consistently while McLaren appear to be racing away with the constructors' title for the second year in a row, opening up a 175-point lead on second-placed Mercedes, and 212 points clear of Red Bull in fourth.
Pérez, as the first driver to struggle as Red Bull's issues emerged, was a lightning rod for criticism — and sources have previously intimated that the team's problems were exacerbated by a lack of detailed feedback from Pérez. Only since the Mexican's departure has his role perhaps been more appreciated, but he does not believe he is owed an apology.
'No,' Pérez told Desde el Paddock. 'I mean, at the end of the day, that's how the sport is. They made certain decisions because of the immense pressure — pressure that they themselves helped create. But I know, deep down, they regret it. And I know that from a very reliable source.
'Still, what can you do? You move on. It's tough. I have very good friends there, and people might think I take pleasure in what happened — but no.'
Verstappen is still in contention for a fifth drivers' title in a row but finds himself in third, behind the McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. In the final year under the present regulations, Red Bull have struggled to unlock performance in the same consistent manner as McLaren, though Verstappen's sheer talent has kept him in the hunt.
'The truth is, Max deserves all the success he's having,' Pérez added. 'He's an incredible driver, and very few people understand the way he works — he's exceptional.'
While Verstappen's team-mates have all struggled, Pérez believes it is the absence of the renowned designer Newey that is causing Red Bull's biggest issues. Newey departed for Aston Martin as technical director, starting work there in March. Other key personnel such as Jonathan Wheatley, who is now the Sauber team principal, have also left.
'We had a great team. In the end, it slowly fell apart, but we really did have something special, during one of the most competitive eras in F1,' Pérez, part of a Red Bull team that won the constructors' crowns in 2022 and 2023, said.
'We didn't dominate an era like Mercedes, where they had a massive engine advantage. In our case, the performance gap was minimal, and we still built a powerhouse. When Adrian left — that's when the problems really started.'
Red Bull have been approached for comment.
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This and his well-developed sense of duty to protect the company is why Bill has firmly required his sons, along with their older sister Alexandra, already a Ford director, to study for degrees at 'good' universities – Princeton for Will, Harvard for Nick – and to spend at least five years building worthwhile careers in businesses outside the automotive world. This plan works, says Bill. It protects the company, not least by allowing the new talent to fail or succeed somewhere else, regardless of their surname. 'I didn't have that,' he adds with some regret. 'So for the early part of my career, I used to wonder: am I only here because of my last name?' Nick Ford, the younger brother still in his first year at Ford, offers an intriguing insight into joining the family firm. 'You know you shouldn't have a bad day,' he says, 'because everyone's watching, for better or worse. It's a big shift from working somewhere else and a great responsibility. But it's a great honour as well.' 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Plus off-road racing, of course: in January he was in Saudi Arabia for the Dakar Rally. He loves driving the cars and lets slip that he's a bit of a speed freak – but regrets that he doesn't get to do as much racing as he would like. I ask about the objectives of the impending Red Bull visit but get little meat on the bone. It turns out Will visits quite often, even if Bill is yet to do so. My facetious suggestion that the team might make good use of a bright, young, Ford-nominated American for its problematic second F1 seat is met with something of a dead bat. 'Driver decisions are Red Bull's,' says Will. 'But they're a collaborative partner in every way.' Fearing that this might leave a chink of my suggestion still alive, Bill weighs in: 'I'd rather see the team win than put someone we recommend in the seat.' Meanwhile, what is Nick's view of cars and racing? Robust, it turns out. 'When Will gets into it seriously,' he says. 'I'll take him on.' Given that Bill has been interviewed thousands of times and can anticipate the next line of enquiry better than the hack himself, he's well prepared for the 'European reassurance' question. He starts answering almost before I've finished suggesting that Ford isn't doing very well with cars in Europe at present. Does the company still love Europe? Will it continue to be involved here? Will we see great cars like in the old days? 'Well, of course we'll go on,' he says, pushing back on my accusation of poor performance with details of increasingly impressive sales of Ford Pro commercial vehicles. 'On the passenger car side, we realise we're not as robust as we need to be,' he admits. 'But as Nick says, we're working on our future strategy right now. But I think you'll be surprised – pleasantly surprised – by what's coming.' Bill had always seen the point of clean air and efficiency and was earning credibility as an environmentalist many years before it was popular. He cites the production of the pioneering Ford Escape Hybrid, fully 20 years ago, as one of his best achievements. Such an Escape, along with a battery-powered Focus, is in his personal car collection, which consists mainly of first-of-build Mustangs. The move to electrification remains important to Bill, and he has no doubt that it will happen. Indeed, it's happening already. 'What went wrong is that the regulators got out ahead of the customers,' he says. 'That's never a good situation. In the future, electrification will play a very important role in transportation, but it won't be the only part. The ICE business will be gradually phased out, but it won't disappear. What happens will vary according to region. 'At Ford, we've invested in all of these clean technologies, and I feel good about that. But it's down to customers. They want what they want, and it's our job to give it to them.' Join our WhatsApp community and be the first to read about the latest news and reviews wowing the car world. Our community is the best, easiest and most direct place to tap into the minds of Autocar, and if you join you'll also be treated to unique WhatsApp content. You can leave at any time after joining - check our full privacy policy here. Next Prev In partnership with
