Sergio Perez’s four-year Formula 1 tenure at Red Bull was nothing short of cinematic, with rumors and internal stress existing nonstop. What started with rumors of sabotaging Max Verstappen and claims that the two Red Bull cars were different ultimately evolved into constant speculation about his future with the team, even years before his eventual departure.
The Mexican driver recently spoke more about what it was like for him during his final three seasons. While what he said only confirmed the widely held public belief about how Red Bull and Christian Horner operated, it was still somewhat shocking to hear.
Perez, who had initially signed through 2026 before being dropped after 2024, had asked Horner at the end of his time at Red Bull what would happen if things failed with Liam Lawson, and the former team boss replied with Yuki Tsunoda’s availability from Racing Bulls.
A similar follow-up generated a similar response, and that only spoke more to Red Bull’s toxic culture under Horner, who clearly did not care about shuffling through drivers – or the success of those drivers – alongside Verstappen.
Horner's intentions were spoken into existence
Just two races into the 2025 season, we saw Lawson get replaced by Tsunoda. Things did not change much, as the Japanese driver struggled in the same car for most of the season.
Once Laurent Mekies took over for Horner, rumors persisted that Tsunoda would be replaced in favor of Isack Hadjar. Though Mekies strayed away from a typical in-season Red Bull driver change, the seemingly inevitable change – again, one Perez largely predicted – was made after the season.
Perez’s reflections on the 2025 season emphasized his belief that Red Bull’s approach to driver management validated his own concerns.
Based on his performance from 2021 to mid-2023, Perez believed he could have outperformed both Lawson and Tsunoda in the RB21. Quite frankly, even his performance dip in 2024 was better than what Red Bull got out of its second drivers in 2025.
All things considered, the second car Red Bull scored just 33 points throughout the year. Racing Bulls, on the flip side, scored 92 with their two cars.
With Horner out, we have already seen an improvement in the general culture behind the doors at Red Bull, and the second half of the season proved it, both for Verstappen and for the second car. With Helmut Marko now out as well, perhaps that culture will continue to stabilize.
Mekies has placed an emphasis on fairness within both garages, especially by not withholding upgrades from one driver, and it has benefited the entire team. And while Hadjar has indeed been brought in to replace Tsunoda for 2026, chances are Red Bull will not make any mid-season changes if he struggles early on.
On the junior side of things, no Formula 2 driver will be getting a bump up to Formula 1 during the year, as Red Bull’s entire junior system has shrunk, marking another major shift from recent seasons.
It appears that Perez will get the last laugh here, as he is set to make his debut with Cadillac in 2026, while Horner has been without a job for the past several months. Whether the change in culture at Red Bull will last can be determined based on how Mekies handles the first portion of his first full season at the helm.