’No plan B’ for Perez after losing F1 seat

Sergio Perez has "no plan B" after losing his Formula 1 race seat at Red Bull, his father reveals.

The Mexican driver announced in a statement that he has "reached an agreement" with the team. Shortly afterwards, Red Bull Racing followed suit with its own statement.

"Sergio Perez and Oracle Red Bull Racing have reached an agreement to part ways for 2025," the team declared.

Later, team boss Christian Horner explained: "He’s decided that he’s going to take some time off - essentially a sabbatical from Formula 1."

He added that a demotion to the energy drink brand’s second team, Racing Bulls, wasn’t an option. "He will remain involved with the brand and the team, but will be stepping back from driving duties," said Horner.

"It’s time for him to be with his young family and reflect on what he wants to do in the future."

Horner said the 34-year-old might look beyond F1, to "sports cars or something like that".

"But I think first of all he has to take some time to see how much he misses driving a racing car."

Perez’s father, Antonio Perez Garibay, told Fox Sports Mexico: "It’s a complete exit for Checo.

"There is no plan B, no plan C. Today, at this moment, the page in Formula 1 is closing for us. However, when he was fired from Racing Point, there was no plan B either. At that time, F1 was over for us too," he said.

"Right now, he has nothing ahead of him. We have to accept that. Let him enjoy his family," Perez snr added.

A Red Bull spokesperson said Perez’s replacement will be announced "in due course". Horner added: "2025 will probably be the most competitive season in years, so what’s most important to us is having two drivers who perform as closely as possible.

"It will basically come down to a choice between Yuki (Tsunoda) and Liam (Lawson), both of whom have good track records. We have all the information, we’re looking at all of it, we’re talking to our engineering team, and we’ll make a decision in the next few days."

Multiple international media outlets believe New Zealander Lawson, 22, will take the seat.