According to statements made by Perez in a podcast, Horner openly admitted that neither Lawson nor Tsunoda would be able to cope with the pressure in the second cockpit.
Sergio Perez is about to make his Formula 1 comeback with Cadillac, but he can’t seem to let go of his time at Red Bull. In a recent interview, the veteran driver once again settled scores with the team’s working methods. His damning verdict: he felt he could never please those in charge, regardless of his performance compared to Max Verstappen.
In the Oso Trava podcast, the Mexican vividly described how he was worn down by the team’s unattainable expectations.
“The team found fault with everything. At Red Bull, everything was simply a problem,” said the driver, whose contract was terminated at the end of 2024 despite a previously signed two-year extension.
Perez couldn’t please Red Bull
“If I was faster, that was a problem and caused tension. If I was slower than Max, it was just as much of a problem,” Perez explained. “At some point, I realized that those were the conditions. Instead of complaining, I tried to make the best of it.”
Perez admitted that he knew what he was getting into. Nevertheless, he had hoped to be more involved in the development of the car instead of sitting idly by and watching the entire package being tailored exclusively to Verstappen.
“Christian [Horner] was completely honest with me during our first conversation. He said, ‘We’re fielding two cars because we have to. But this project was created for Max—he’s our talent.’” Perez replied at the time that he didn’t care as long as he had a say in the development and was given a real sporting chance.
His summary today is bitter: “I was in the best car, but in an extremely complicated team. Being Max’s teammate is hard enough. But being his teammate at Red Bull? That’s the most thankless job in all of Formula 1.”
Perez’s descriptions of his last conversation with then-team boss Christian Horner are particularly explosive. In it, he warned his boss urgently about the problems that any successor would face. According to Perez, Horner admitted that the situation would be almost impossible for other drivers to cope with—but that he would be prepared to change the personnel if necessary.
The last conversation: “You’re going to burn them all out”
“I asked him at the time, ‘Christian, what are you going to do if it doesn’t work out with Liam [Lawson]?’ He just said, ‘Well, then there’s Yuki [Tsunoda].’ ‘And if it goes wrong with Yuki too?‘ ‘We have enough drivers.’ I then said to him, ‘You’re going to burn them all out.’ And his answer was simply, ‘Yes, I know.’”
These statements suggest that Lawson’s promotion was more of an act of desperation because no better option for the second cockpit could be found at short notice. Especially since the decision was only made late in the 2024 season.
In the end, both were right: none of the successors could cope with the package. Isack Hadjar will now be in the second Red Bull for 2026. Even though Perez emphasizes that Horner was aware of the risk, it remains to be seen whether a new wind will blow under the new leadership of Laurent Mekies and whether Verstappen’s new teammate will find more balanced conditions.
