Sergio Perez has been dropped by Red Bull (Image: Getty)
would have ‘lost respect’ for due to the extent of his struggles in 2024, according to 1997 F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve. The Mexican was dropped for after a miserable end to the year.
Perez’s 2024 campaign initially looked promising. He scored four podiums in the first five races and was only trailing team-mate in the Drivers’ Championship standings at that point.
Unfortunately for the six-time Grand Prix winner, the RB20 only became more difficult to pilot from that point onwards, and , and all closed the gap to in the performance index.
When the drivers returned from the summer break, Perez’s confidence was at rock bottom and he ended the season in miserable fashion, scoring just one top-nine finish in his final eight races in F1. He was axed after a post-season review with Lawson taking his place for 2025.
“It’s a change that needed to make,” Villeneuve told Express Sport, in association with . “It was only getting worse. For whatever reason, Perez just isn’t in the right place at the moment, and when that happens, change is needed.
“Things go wrong, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a bad driver, but when it becomes such a heavy problem, the team loses respect for you and nothing will go your way after that. It’s understandable, and it’s needed, but there must’ve been a clause in Perez’s contract to allow them to make this change.
Don’t miss…
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. Read our Privacy Policy
Jacques Villeneuve believes Red Bull made the right call (Image: Getty)
“It was probably very costly. We don’t know what’s in the contract, but Perez had some of the best lawyers in the world protecting him, and it must’ve been a strong and well-written contract as this has taken so long.
“The fact that finished third in the Constructors’ Championship whilst having a driver win the Championship himself is not good at all. When one of your drivers wins the Championship, you should also win the Constructors’ Championship, or at worst, come second if it’s a close battle between drivers. You should not come third.”
More F1… [REPORT] [UPDATE]
Despite the struggles of Perez and his predecessors and , Villeneuve does not believe that the RB20 is tailored specifically to Verstappen’s liking. “The difference was way too big for most of the season,” he continued. “And it’s not because the car was solely designed for Max, and the rest of the drivers struggled.
“Yes, the best drivers will have an influence on the car, but the team won’t favour one driver over the other. They just want to make it as fast as possible. Rumours of a £20million pay-off to Perez would still be smaller than what would lose by coming third in the Constructors’ Championship again.”