What happened with Sergio 'Checo' Pérez, and why Red Bull reportedly wants to fire him?

Max Verstappen won the Drivers' Championshiop for a fourth consecutive time this year, but despite it, Red Bull Racing didn't win the Constructor's title and were third -McLaren did, for the first time since 1998-. It is usual that the champion's team also wins the Constructor's title, but it didn't happen in 2024 (going back, it has only happened twice this century: 2021 and 2008).

Despite Max Verstappen winning less races this year than usual (9, compared to record breaking 19 last year), all fingers point to his teammate Sergio Pérez. Verstappen scored 437 points this year, while the Mexican didn't win a race and only scored 152 points, and ended eighth in the Driver's championship (he was second and third the previous years).

That has sparked rumours about 'Checo' Pérez being fired from Red Bull earlier, despite his contract ending in 2026... an extension announced just six months ago.

What happened his Sergio Pérez's contract in Red Bull?

Last week, before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner admitted that it was a mistake to extend Pérez contract in June 2024. At the start of the season, Pérez had performed really good, including four podiums in the first five races. "In order to settle his mind and extend that run of form for the rest of the season, we elected to go early, which obviously didn't work".

However, Horner also praised Pérez: "great team player, great person, extremely popular with the team" and admits that nobody is more frustrated than Checo himself.

Verstappen, known for his bluntness, also praised Checo, thinking people have been very harsh on him. "It's rare to have a teammate like him, so good and nice", and pointed that his car was harder to drive, as an explanation for his poor performance.

Some sources say that Red Bull has already decided to fire Pérez, and now it's a matter of when are they going to announce it (and how much money will they settle as rescission). According to Nico Rosberg, Pérez asks 16 million euros. Liam Lawson sounds like his replacement.

But so far, Pérez and Verstappen are still cited as Red Bull drivers going into 2025. These are all the F1 teams and driver changes confirmed for next year.