from ‘Minister of Defense’ to win ‘destructors championship’

Max Verstappen in first place with 437 points and Sergio Pérez with almost three hundred points less in dismal eighth place. The World Cup standings in 2024 could hardly be more painful for the Mexican.

The difference between the Red Bull drivers was so great that the team management decided today to replace Pérez after four years. And while the collaboration with Verstappen started so well in 2021.

In the last race of that year in Abu Dhabi, Pérez was worth gold to Verstappen. By holding up rival Hamilton, he gave his Dutch teammate the opportunity to make a pit stop for fresh tires in the famous final phase.

This allowed Verstappen to attack Hamilton on the last lap, who as the leader did not have the luxury of coming in. The overtaking action in the absolute final phase gave Verstappen his first world title.

Verstappen expressed his gratitude to Perez on the board radio: ‘Checo is a legend!’ The outside world gave him a fitting nickname: ‘Minister of Defense’, because of his important defensive work.

Pérez has never been as important to Verstappen as he was then. Although the Mexican had a share in Red Bull’s constructors’ title in 2022 and 2023 by finishing second and third respectively in the World Cup, the difference with his teammate was regularly very large.

This led to the fact that both drivers of the Austrian formation could hardly work together in battles with other teams. Strategically, Pérez was unable to put pressure on Verstappen’s competitors.

Painfully enough, Perez became a guinea pig for Red Bull at times. Because the Mexican sometimes rode in a hopeless position, his race was used to test things that could possibly help Verstappen.

For example, it was examined how the car would perform on a specific tire or if the front wing was slightly adjusted. Pérez could be used for this, because the risk of losing points was not that great in the battle for the championships.

This year in particular the difference was painfully large. The RB20 was a difficult car to drive, but Verstappen still managed to win the world title with it. Pérez finished eighth, no less than 285 points behind.

Partly due to Pérez’s limited number of podium finishes (four times), Red Bull Racing missed out on the constructors’ title.

Pérez also cost the team quite a bit of money in 2024. Several crashes by the Mexican caused an estimated cost of more than 4.5 million euros. With this amount he became the driver who finished at the top of the ‘destructors championship’, the less than honorable list of Formula 1 drivers with the most damage last season.

Verstappen is in fifteenth position. He drove an estimated just over 8 tons of damage.

The working relationship between Verstappen and Pérez was excellent, although it never became truly friendly as with Verstappen and Ricciardo.

The tension rose for a while during the 2022 season. That started during the Monaco Grand Prix when the Mexican crashed in the third part of qualifying. As a result, Verstappen was no longer able to improve his time and had to start the race on the tight street circuit behind his teammate. Pérez managed to win the race on Sunday.

There were rumors that Pérez deliberately raised a red flag in the principality. Whether that’s true or not, it didn’t sit well with Verstappen. This was reflected later that season during the Grand Prix of São Paulo.

Red Bull asked the Dutchman if he wanted to pass his teammate, who was fighting for second place in the World Cup standings. Verstappen ignored the stable orders and retained sixth place. It is generally assumed that Verstappen took revenge for the situation in Monaco.

Pérez reacted furiously. “This shows who he really is,” the Mexican grumbled. “He has two world titles thanks to me. After everything I have done for him, this is disappointing.”

After the last race of this season, Verstappen looked back positively on his four years with Pérez. “I have always enjoyed working with Checo,” the four-time world champion told Viaplay. “He fit in very well with the team and is just a pleasant person. I had some nice moments with him.”

Opposite The Race Verstappen said that he did not agree with all the criticism Perez received. “Yes, I sympathize with him. I work with him every week and every weekend. Of course, some weekends could have been better, but in general he is judged severely. He is not an idiot.”