Eddie Jordan on Sergio Perez’s crisis: “The fault lies with Red Bull and Verstappen”. Eddie Jordan on Sergio Perez’s crisis in 2024 F1 season.

Still undecided
The complete Red Bull (and Racing Bulls) line-up for 2025 remains uncertain, though official announcements from the teams are expected in the coming days, according to Helmut Marko. The focus, however, is on Sergio Perez, who is under contract with Red Bull until 2026 but endured such a disastrous season that an early departure from Milton Keynes would hardly come as a surprise.

A nightmare 2024
After finishing on the podium four times in the first five races of the season, Checo suffered a significant slump in performance, both in qualifying and races, ultimately finishing eighth in the Drivers’ Championship. Meanwhile, his teammate Max Verstappen claimed the world title. This crisis was dissected on the *Formula for Success* podcast by Eddie Jordan, who expressed “embarrassment” for the Mexican driver while pinpointing the real culprits behind his poor results.

The Carlos Sainz hypothesis
The former Irish entrepreneur pointed the finger at Red Bull and Max Verstappen, suggesting that the team kept Perez alongside the Dutchman at Verstappen’s request, ensuring he wouldn’t have a stronger teammate. To support his theory, Jordan referenced rumors from earlier this year about a potential move by Carlos Sainz to Red Bull, which Verstappen strongly opposed due to lingering tensions between the two drivers from their time together at Toro Rosso in 2015-2016.

The accusations
While Carlos Sainz has signed with Williams for 2025, Perez secured a contract extension with Red Bull until 2026, despite his struggles on track. “I feel embarrassed for Checo because I like him, and he’s a great guy to be around,” Jordan explained. “But are you telling me he’s trying to secure his place in the team for next year? I’d say there’s no chance, but the blame lies with the team and Max Verstappen. I know Max pressured Christian Horner. He didn’t want Carlos Sainz in the car. He wanted Checo because he knew he could beat him. To be honest, Max needs to reflect on this, and Christian needs to reflect on this. They’ll deny it,” Jordan concluded, “but I believe it was easier to keep Checo in the car rather than consider a scenario where it might have been better for the team to secure a Constructors’ title next year.”