Sergio Perez will set an unwanted record if Max Verstappen wraps up the 2024 F1 championship

On By Pranco

Sergio Perez could see his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen win the Formula 1 world championship this weekend. Verstappen is on the brink of a fourth title in a row heading into the Grand Prix of Las Vegas.

Perez is a chasmic 242 points behind the Dutchman heading into Sin City. He could still equal last season’s historic deficit of 290, but that’s not the most embarrassing record on the line.

Verstappen Lando Norris leads Lando Norris with 62 points, while only 86 are up for grabs. Only 60 will be on the table during the last two race weekends (Qatar and Abu Dhabi).

Sergio Perez of Mexico driving the (11) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on No...
Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images

This means that Norris must beat Verstappen in Vegas by three points to extend the title race. But in reality it’s just a matter of when at this stage.

Only Michael Schumacher has a longer run of championships to his name (five between 2000 and 2004). Verstappen’s performance this year looks all the more impressive now that his teammate is in eighth place.

Sergio Perez becomes the first F1 driver to officially cost his team the constructors’ title twice

For the second time in the past four seasons (after 2021) Red Bull will almost certainly win the drivers’ title, but not the constructors’ title. This is a rather shameful reflection on Perez.

As shown in the table below, there have been eleven occasions where the Constructors’ Champions have not fielded the title-winning driver. But Perez could become the first to ever appear twice in the dreaded fourth column.

YEAR DIRECTOR’S TITLE TEAM TEAM MATE(S) TITLE OF CONSTRUCTORS
1958 Mike Hawthorn Ferrari Tony Brooks Vanmuur
1973 Jackie Stewart Tyrrell François Cevert, Chris Amon Lotus
1976 James Hunt McLaren Jochen Maas Ferrari
1981 Nelson Picquet Brabham Hector Rebaque Williams
1982 Keke Rosberg Williams Derek Daly, Carlos Reutemann Ferrari
1983 Nelson Picquet Brabham Riccardo Patrese Ferrari
1986 Alain Prost McLaren Keke Rosberg Williams
1994 Michael Schumacher Bennetton Jos Verstappen Williams
1999 Mika Hakkinen McLaren David Coulthard Ferrari
2008 Lewis Hamilton McLaren Heikki Kovalainen Ferrari
2021 Max Verstappen Red Bull Sergio Perez Mercedes

Officially, you could say that his inability to match his teammate has now cost Red Bull two titles. Christian Horner’s team remains in sixth place, barring a dramatic turnaround. They are 49 points behind McLaren with three rounds to go.

Lando Norris has scored around 55% of the McLaren points, almost identical to Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari contribution. At Red Bull, Verstappen is at about 72%.

The action Red Bull has taken after Sergio Perez’s dismal performance in 2024

Some would argue that this record is more of a positive reflection on Verstappen than a negative reflection on Perez. All-time greats such as Lewis Hamilton, Schumacher, Alain Prost and Nelson Piquet also defied the limitations of their cars based on the table above.

But Red Bull would not consider a change to their driver line-up if they felt Perez’s performance was acceptable. Team boss Horner is ready to promote Liam Lawson over Franco Colapinto.

Position The constructors’ rankings Points
1 593
2 557
3 544
4 382
5 86
6 49
7 46
8 44
9 17
10

Sauber F1 team

 0

It remains to be seen how easy Red Bull can escape Perez’s contract if necessary. He may already be in breach of his deal, after falling too far behind Verstappen before the summer break.

He has already suffered the consequences of his underperformance. An insider claims Perez had to take a pay cut when the gap with his teammate was greater than 150 points.

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