Red Bulls No. 2

Surprise! Pérez on the Formula 1 entry list for 2025

Has he really managed to pull his professional head out of the noose, has Sergio Pérez been able to secure his place in Formula 1 despite the atrocious past year in the premier class of motorsport? Fans of the Mexican are currently taking heart from the fact that Pérez appears as Red Bull Racing's second driver in the driver nomination list for the coming season ...

In principle, this may not be illogical, as Pérez's contract is valid for another year anyway. However, this year he finished bottom of the drivers' championship with just 152 points against the 427-point world champion Max Verstappen - and he is considered the main culprit for Red Bull Racing's failure to win the constructors' championship.

Sergio Pérez(Bild: AFP/APA/Miguel SCHINCARIOL)

Won five Grands Prix with the "Bulls"
That is why there has been repeated speculation in recent weeks and months that the Mexican, who won five Grands Prix during his time with the 'Bulls', could be replaced in the middle of the season that has just ended.

F1 driver nomination list for the coming season(Bild: https://www.fia.com)

Lack of compelling alternatives to Pérez 
As we now know, this did not happen - which may well have been due to the lack of compelling alternatives. Daniel Ricciardo, for example, who was occasionally rumored as an emergency solution, did not really prove to be a serious successor to Pérez at the sister team Racing Bulls and later even lost his own cockpit.

-(Bild: Associated Press)

So will everything work out for Red Bull Racing's number 2 after all? Not necessarily! Because the entry list of drivers is only provisional, the teams can still change the drivers named. The Racing Bulls, for example, still have a big "TBC" ("To Be Confirmed"), which means something like "Still to be confirmed". In other words, Pérez could end up having to take his hat off after all, albeit with a princely severance package from Red Bull, with talk of between 16 and 70 million euros ...