Sergio Perez’s deserved move to Red Bull in 2021 very quickly turned into a nightmare as he became the next driver to be dominated by Max Verstappen.

The Mexican had established himself as a great talent in F1 who could produce brilliant results with midfield teams, as evidenced by his time with Sauber, Force India and Racing Point.

Perez enjoyed his best season in F1 in 2020 (up to that point), achieving his first win at the Sakhir Grand Prix having been last at one point. As he was set to leave Racing Point ahead of their rebranding to Aston Martin and with options limited, many called for the Mexican to be given a chance at Red Bull – and that is exactly what he was given.

But before joining Red Bull, there were some early warning signs about his pending struggles. The first was that Perez had failed to deliver at a so-called ‘top team’ in his career, as evidenced by his time at McLaren in 2013 when he scored no podiums and achieved a best result of fifth at the Indian Grand Prix.

Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images

The second – and the most important – was that his teammate at Red Bull would be Verstappen, who had been levels above Perez’s predecessors Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon from 2018 to 2020, with Ricciardo leaving Red Bull mutually for Renault, while the other two were completely dropped.

But despite this, Perez seemed almost unfazed by this when he joined Red Bull back in 2021 – something he will come to regret as Perez is now set to be sacked by Red Bull after failing to deliver the results.

Sergio Perez said he had no reason to be ‘worried’ about Max Verstappen when he joined Red Bull

Speaking on the Beyond The Grid Podcast after signing with Milton Keynes-based outfit, Perez said he was aware of the ‘big challenge’ ahead of him in going up against Verstappen.

But the Mexican was ready for the task and stated that he didn’t see why he had to be worried about the Dutchman and vice versa.

“Since I knew I was coming to Red Bull, I knew that I’m going to be facing a big challenge which is Max. He’s a very complete driver,” he said.

“I found no surprises to be honest. I just found that he’s a very strong driver all around and that it’s going to be a task, a big challenge on myself.

“But it’s what I wanted, I want to measure against the best in the sport, so it’s a great challenge and a great opportunity and something that I’m looking so much forward [to].

“I don’t see why Max should be worried about me and why I should be worried about him. I think we both come here to do our best possible job.”

Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty ImagesSergio Perez was dominated by Max Verstappen at Red Bull – will Liam Lawson be next?

It would turn out that Perez had every reason to be worried about Verstappen as he would get nowhere near the Dutchman in his four seasons with Red Bull.

While Verstappen won four titles on the spin, Perez only won five races with Red Bull as he struggled to get to grips with the machinery. His woes were the most apparent in 2024 as he endured his worst season with the team, finishing eighth in the standings having not finished above fifth since the Miami Grand Prix.

Verstappen completely dominated Perez this season, only being outqualified by the Mexican when he was hit with a grid penalty for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix – which the Dutchman ended up winning from 17th – and was only beaten by him at the Australian Grand Prix after he retired with a rear brake failure.

After losing their constructors’ title thanks to Perez’s miserable form, the 34-year-old is set to be replaced by Liam Lawson who is being tipped for a promotion from Visa Cash App RB.

The Kiwi driver had been in contention with his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, but the Japanese driver looks set to miss out on the promotion. Tiff Needell thinks Tsunoda should have replaced Perez at Red Bull given his experience with RB and the fact he outperformed Ricciardo this season.

There is no doubt that Lawson has the speed over one lap and his aggressive approach in battles makes him an exciting prospect. But the 22-year-old will face the pressure of joining Perez on the list of drivers who failed in the second Red Bull seat – and it may be too early for him to handle that step up.