Red Bull is having a very strange 2024 season, and Sergio Perez’ propensity to end up in the wall isn’t helping. Last weekend at the Hungaroring, Perez slid his RB20 into the barrier during the opening segment of qualifying at turn 8 when he was caught out by a light misting of rain. That’s a forgivable incident for almost anyone else on the grid, but when your team has spent more money and time repairing your cars than any other driver it’s a major concern. The Hungary crash cost Red Bull another million bucks, bringing Sergio’s crash cost total to around $4,116,ooo. The man’s base salary is allegedly $14 million this season, up from $10 million in 2023.
There have been seven Grand Prix victors in the 2024 season, and Sergio Perez isn’t one of them. He hasn’t stood on a podium since China in April. He’s been out-qualified by Williams’ Logan Sargeant seven times this year, which is very much not a good statistic to hold. The guy’s career is falling apart in front of his eyes. Despite Red Bull having signed a two year contract extension with Perez, it seems more likely every day that he doesn’t even make it through this season as a Red Bull driver.
Under the current regulations F1 teams cannot spend more than $135 million on non-salary expenses. With over $5 million in crash-related expenses, Red Bull’s frequent crashes are costing the team valuable budget. Sure, it’s only three percent, but the team’s pace relative to the competition has dropped by at least that much in recent weeks. It’s possible that without such frequent crashes, Red Bull would still hold the speed advantage over McLaren, Ferrari, and Mercedes that it had across the first five races of the 2024 season.
Sergio, you’ve had a great career in F1, and you definitely made the world pay attention when you were kicking ass in the Racing Point cars, but your time is up. I don’t know if something happened that shook your confidence, or the driving style required to get the most from the RB20 just isn’t achievable for you, but if you can’t get it together in short order, you’ll be begging for a ride in IndyCar next year if you don’t watch yourself.