Jordan: 'Not a chance' Perez will be retained by Red Bull in 2025
11/08/2024 08:38 AM
Former Formula 1 team owner Eddie Jordan believes there is "not a chance" that the beleaguered Sergio Perez will remain with Red Bull next season.
The Mexican's performance has collapsed this season, not only relative to his teammate Max Verstappen but more importantly in terms of his contribution to his outfit's points tally in F1's Constructors' Championship.
Perez currently sits eighth in the Drivers' standings with only three races left, trailing Verstappen by a massive 242 points and failing to secure a podium finish since the Chinese Grand Prix in April.
The 34-year-old's dramatic shortfall has seen Red Bull drop from first last summer to third in the teams' ranking, outscored by McLaren and Ferrari.
In light of Perez's struggles, Red Bull is now evaluating Liam Lawson who has been granted a six-race opportunity with Visa Cash App RB to showcase his skills.
Reflecting on Red Bull's situation along with David Coulthard in the most recent episode of the Formula for Success podcast, Jordan offered the gloomiest of outlooks on Perez's future while pouring glowing praise on rising star, Lawson.
"Perez, you know, he's now had, how many chances has he had?" Jordan asked. "Do you think he'll have a drive next year, David? Not a chance. Not a chance.
"He's a lovely, lovely, lovely guy. But we know lovely guys don't win you many Grand Prix.
"Whereas Lawson is the deal, he's part of the family there, he's part of the makeup, he is the person that should be in that car."
Coulthard echoed Jordan's concerns about Perez's standing, though he left the door open for a potential turnaround in the final races.
"Well, look, I'm not going to disagree with the fact, Checo, lovely guy," said the former F1 driver.
"He has been a Grand Prix winner. He has been a loyal servant as the team have been to him.
"But unless something happens in the next three races that gives you a whole lot of confidence that it's just an issue with his car, then the writing is very, very boldly on the wall."
Jordan believes that Lawson – who has scored a pair of top ten finishes in his first three races with RB – is the ideal candidate to fill the potential void left by Perez.
©RB
"Lawson is the real deal here," added the Irishman. "He drove with a lot of pressure, a lot of people hanging there in the back of him, and he knows how to handle himself.
"He has not got the car that Lewis had, or that other people had, but he displayed a level of competence that I was super impressed with. And that can only grow, it can only get better.
"And with the right person looking after him, whether it's Christian Horner or whoever it may be in that team, in Red Bull, that's where he should be now. Not next year, now. Because he'll be picking up the pieces, he'll be learning with that team, so he's ready to fly in 2025."
As the 2024 season draws to a close, the future of Sergio Perez and the driver lineup at Red Bull Racing remains a topic of intense speculation.
With Lawson's impressive performances and the team's clear need for a strong second driver, the pressure is on Perez – big time – to deliver in the final races of the year.
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