Why did you compare first 5 for Perez against last 5 for Bottas? First five in 2019 for Bottas - 1,2,2,1,2 First five in 2020 for Bottas - 1,2,3,11,3 First five in 2022 for Bottas - 3,DNF,3,3,DNF
Via ESPN F1 Sources have indicated Red Bull is willing to move Pérez away from its race team and into a wider ambassadorial role with the team without a significant change to his current salary, believed to be in the region of $8 million a year. That would be a significant concession to make for a role that would essentially include a handful of show runs around the world and marketing appearances for the company.
I guess the alternatives are to have him continue 'racing' for the team, or pay him to do absolutely nothing..... No good choices here, it seems.
Bonus money lost for team members who do not earn 8mil in salary, morale loss etc. He is not getting the job done and the idiocy of the team offering the contract lol. F1 is full of 'smart' people we hear and read! I hold Perez about 1 step above Stroll in terms of performance. He is not worth the money and the other options are unknown. They should have fired him in August without a new deal. Now they risk a new face with Max for next year. Horner and Marko's driver management is rather strange to say the least. They dont hire a safe pair of hands like Bottas or Hulk or a good talent like Sainz. No sympathy. Probably fired Albon too soon but MaxBull as managed is impulsive in terms of driver management.
Red Bull wouldn't be in that dilemma now, if they hadn't been stupid enough to re-sign Perez early this year. They knew then that his stock was declining, so why did Horner and Marko offered him another 2-year contract ?
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/single-seaters/f1/why-red-bull-gave-broken-perez-a-new-f1-deal-and-didnt-swoop-for-sainz/
At this point, Lawson is worth a try, just like Tsunoda, or Colapinto or Hadjar. What is there to lose anyway ? Perez looks definitely broken now.
Honestly Tsunoda deserves his shot from a performance stand point. Clearly Red Bull put performance below marketing and revenue. Tsunoda is really only there because of his Honda backing even if he's done quite well the last 2 seasons. He is nowhere near as popular as Perez or any top driver so sadly for him it's unlikely he will get the seat at Red Bull.
According to GPBlog, negotiations have started between Red Bull and Sergio Perez' side for him to leave the team. Helmut Marko has hinted to the media, that the discussions are at an advanced stage already. Checo would be agreeing for Red Bull to buy his contract, The financial compensation could be in the order of $16Millions.
I also "heard" of Checo taking on an ambassadorial role at RedBull instead of buying out his contract i.e. to keep the sponsors and Hispanic people happy.
Reading between the lines, this "ambassadorial roles" could be a subtle way to keep appearances. Red Bull don't look forced to pay compensation, and Perez is restrained from "spilling the beans" by some sort of gagging order.
He is a marketable asset and personality. No surprise that has been spoken of a few times. He will probably have other racing offers as well.
When do we start to get the juicy meme's from Perez's contractual outcome? He's said it in two races now, "I lost drive" or "I just lost drive," I forget the exact quote. Yes. Yes you did.
Issued by the media after Yas GP 2024: "This sums up RedBull's Checo Perez Bon voyage and don't come back." Image Unavailable, Please Login
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/319036/sergio-perez-should-pay-the-red-bull-mechanics-a-bonus.html The contracts of (most) Red Bull personnel state that they'll receive a bonus depending on where they finish in the constructor's title. A third or first-place finish - in Red Bull Racing's case - may make many tens of thousands of dollars of difference per person. In short, because of a mediocre Perez performance, Red Bull personnel will not receive their possible bonus. Steiner, therefore, suggested that Perez should do it himself: "Pay the bonus to the guys! Especially now, even if he doesn't drive next season, he'll get fully paid," the Italian said. Steiner referred to Perez's rumoured ambassador role, where he won't drive for Red Bull but will get paid a full salary. Steiner delves into Red Bull's problem: Some challenges come with this new role, however. "A driver normally has got some personal service agreements with sponsors and so on. And for sure, they'll be in place for next year as well. He'll claim, guys, you make my life difficult here. Now, I'm unemployed, and all these sponsors don't pay me because I am not driving a race car. There's a lot of discussion about lost earnings," Steiner believes.
It's 50/50 at this point; it's all speculation. Many wish Checo out, but no one at Red Bull comes up with a straight answer. All this dithering is poor management, IMO.
