In the round-up: Max Verstappen thanked his departing team mate Sergio Perez after Red Bull confirmed he will not see out the final two years of his contract.
In brief
Verstappen thanks Perez
Perez joined Verstappen at Red Bull in 2021 and became his longest-serving team mate over the four years they spent together. He played a vital role in helping Verstappen clinch his first championship in the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
“It’s been an absolute pleasure driving alongside you,” said Verstappen in a post on social media. “We’ve had some amazing moments together that I’ll always remember. Thank you, Checo!”
F2 and F3 on Madrid F1 support bill
Formula 2 and Formula 3 will support Formula 1’s races at the new Madrid IFEMA circuit from 2026 to 2035, the two series have announced.Pourchaire and Maloney leave Sauber
Zane Maloney will leave Sauber’s driver academy one year after joining it from Red Bull’s, the team has confirmed. He now races in Formula E.
Theo Pourchaire, 2023 Formula 2 champion, has also left the scheme, and is now a test driver for Peugeot’s WEC programme.
Pin stays with Mercedes
Doriane Pin will return for another season in F1 Academy next year with Mercedes’ backing. She will drive for Prema, and also race for their team in the Formula Regional European Championship.
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Links
Inside Ecclestone’s glorious grand prix and F1 car collection (Motorsport Magazine)
'The sale announcement follows a year on from Ecclestone’s guilty plea to tax fraud, which left him with a bill of £652m payable to HM Revenue & Customs. That might be an achievable sum to recoup.'
Red Bull principal Christian Horner says honorary award from king Charles is ‘very humbling’ (AP)
'Horner was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the king’s traditional New Year’s List for his services to motorsport. He received the award at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.'
Aston Martin ‘does not underestimate’ Hypercar challenge (WEC)
'We are reaching a critical juncture in the development of the Aston Martin Valkyrie, and to this point, the car has passed all of the objectives and benchmarks we have set for it.'
'There are a range of options on the table that could bring down the overall weight (of the next IndyCar chassis), but a new and heavier energy recovery system is coming, so it won’t be easy to take a bunch of weight away from the thing.'
How does DRS work? (Mercedes via YouTube)
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Social media
Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
This is the second time in Perez's career he's been dropped by a team with two years left to run on his contract.
The last time it was Racing Point, and he was picked up by Red Bull.
#F1
bsky.app/profile/race…
— Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine.bsky.social) 18 December 2024 at 17:13
Updated list of Formula 1 drivers and their teams for 2025 after Red Bull confirmed Sergio Perez will not return for them next season despite signing him to a new two-year deal in June: https://www.racefans.net/2025-f1-season/2025-f1-drivers-and-teams/
#F1
— RaceFans (@racefansdotnet.bsky.social) 18 December 2024 at 20:01
Season’s done, so time for some fun on track in Spain with @alo_oficial in my 1976 Australian Touring Car Championship-winning DeKon Monza, 5 x IMSA-winning 1989 TWR Jaguar XJR-10, and my 2011 Holden Commodore that won the Bathurst 1000 with my team at the time, Walkinshaw… pic.twitter.com/PrbSwdVsRQ
— Zak Brown (@ZBrownCEO) December 18, 2024
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- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
Don’t let Perez’s recent form detract from his best performances, says Martin:
He was actually a pretty good driver, and (until this year) a much stronger number 2 to Max than Gasly or Albon. In some ways he’s unlucky to get a race winning car after his peak as a driver and with a team mate who is one of the best ever, which means as you say the recency bias can make people think he was an absolute chump. He certainly wasn’t as anyone who watched him in these races would attest to.
Martin (@F1hornet)
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Nooma341!
Coventry Climax
19th December 2024, 1:06
On CotD:
can make people think he was an absolute chump
Can and in my case does indeed, and I’ve seen all of his races, all of his seasons within F1.
Sometimes, Perez was fast. But generally, his head wasn’t fixed on right, or tight, or straight, whichever you prefer, in a Grosjean like way.
I’ve always said that and still do.
He’ll be remembered for consistently messing up and then having to do a recovery race.
grat
19th December 2024, 6:21
I’ve had a very controversial thought– Perez reminds me of Massa. With a good car, and the backing of his team, Massa could be an absolute demon on track. But he was prone to mistakes, and unable to drive out of a slump reliably.
Just a random thought.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
19th December 2024, 16:34
or maybe he was Max’s test mule after some rule change or they were forced to remove something from their car, and he never had a shot at winning anything.
Blaming people for being mentally not there, from the sidelines while completely ignoring the politics, money and obvious behaviors which go on behind the scenes or in the garage …
Like if your team was making you look like a clown, do you really think you could smile for the cameras, and affirm that you are in fact a clown ?
Coventry Climax
20th December 2024, 13:37
That does not really make sense, as, if you’re all that great, you’re free to go drive for another team. But at a minimum, why would you want to sign yet another, two year deal just to play clown for a team that treats you so bad?
Secondly I doubt Red Bull just uses driver no. 2 to do experiments for driver no. 1. That makes no sense for the constructors at all.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
19th December 2024, 1:16
“He was actually a pretty good driver, and (until this year) a much stronger number 2 to Max than Gasly or Albon.”
This is enough for me to disagree with COTD! Perez was only decent in 2021 at red bull, he wasn’t too bad in 2022, especially early on, but he still underachieved that season, then in 2023 was terrible and so goes for 2024 too, there’s no way he was stronger than red bull gasly or albon in 2023, let alone much stronger.
Edvaldo
19th December 2024, 15:10
He was terrible in 2021 too, but had the benefit of being in one of just 2 top teams, so, no starting 8th after a tight session to finish 8th and scoring 4 points. A weak race for him was finishing a lonely 4th.
Went to the podium 5 times only, less than half of Bottas, and less than a third than Verstappen and Hamilton.
The only decent season was 2022 really, in which at least he showed he could collect some of the wins Max left on the table, bring some points and race at the top, even if rather clumsily at times.
Tristan
19th December 2024, 3:23
I agree with cotd. He was a great driver much better than recent performance suggests.
Jere (@jerejj)
19th December 2024, 6:55
I’m not overly surprised that both Pourchaire & Maloney leave Sauber after being overlooked & clearly not having a longer term chance either with full Audi control.
Keith’s stat reference is good.
Good COTD.
S
19th December 2024, 8:11
On CotD – Perez is indeed still a very good driver.
What he lacks is a car that does what he wants and needs it to do, because the team has been focused on developing it specifically for his team-mate instead.
It’s not a coincidence that most of his best performances at Red Bull have come at the beginning of each season, and the decline after car updates are applied.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
19th December 2024, 9:15
Lawson is going to RBR. Just been announced.