Sergio Perez issues blunt one-word response to Max Verstappen title defeat
Sergio Perez is the most successful Mexican driver in F1 history with six wins
Heavily criticised last season, Sergio Perez had the last laugh as the curtain came down on the F1 2025 season and his numbers stacked up very favourably against his replacement(s).
Having finished the F1 2023 season second in the championship, although with fewer than half of his championship-winning teammate Max Verstappen’s points, Perez struggled in 2024.
Last laugh belongs to Sergio Perez
Scoring just 152 points to Verstappen’s 437, Perez not only didn’t win a grand prix but his struggles in the RB20 cost Red Bull third place in the Constructors’ Championship.
The end result was that while Red Bull had re-signed him early in the year in that hope that it would bolster his confidence, Perez and Red Bull agreed to part aways at the end of the year.
In walked Liam Lawson. Out walked Liam Lawson.
The otherwise confident New Zealander not only failed to impress but looked to uncertain of himself as he suffered three Q1 exits in two grand prix weekends, Australian and China’s Sprint.
He was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda, who drove the RB20 in the 2024 Abu Dhabi post-season test, and declared at the time that “the car suits my driving style”. Tsunoda’s words did not match his results.
Max Verstappen v Yuki Tsunoda: Red Bull 2025 head-to-head scores
👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates
👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates
Scoring just 30 points in 22 grands prix in Red Bull colours, he was dropped at the end of the F1 2025 championship with Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar set to replace him next season.
Social media had something to say about, and Perez responded.
F1 Troll wrote on X in a meme featuring the Mexican driver, “Perhaps I treated you too harshly.”
Perez responded: “Perhaps” (laughing emoji)
Perhaps 🤣 https://t.co/LA9dhG7VgK
\— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) December 7, 2025
While Tsunoda will spend next year’s championship as a reserve driver for Red Bull and Racing Bulls, Perez will return to a race seat with the sport’s newest team, Cadillac.
Perez recently put in his first laps in an F1 car since his Red Bull axing, testing an unmarked Ferrari at Imola on a two-day outing.
He completed 183 laps, with his new team principal Graeme Lowdon telling Motorsport.com: “I could see a real enthusiasm with Checo.
I think he’s re-entering Formula 1 with exactly the right attitude. And it’s a positive attitude of a racer.
“He’s a proper racing driver, but he’s been out of the car for a little while, so it was really good to see him in
“I was intrigued to see how he would be physically because when you drive these cars, in particular on the neck, it’s a really difficult area of the body to prepare for what actually happens in a car. And he coped incredibly well with that as well. So that was really encouraging. It’s just good to see him go around.
“It was useful as well for Checo to get used to working with the guys who are going to be on his car crew. He did 90 [laps] on one day and 93 on the other day, so it was good mileage. But an awful lot of it was to go out, come back in, simulate a car coming in, simulate what happens if there’s an alarm on the ERS system…
“The mechanics come from different teams, so they have different experiences with different power units, different procedures for ERS emergency and that kind of thing. So, it was super, super useful. I’m really pleased that we did it.”
Read next: Winners and losers from the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Yas Marina)
