Because the 2024 season neared its finish, Pink Bull group principal Christian Horner admitted his determination at hand Sergio Perez an early contract extension in June “clearly didn’t work.”
Having been comprehensively overwhelmed by group mate Max Verstappen for a lot of 2023, their third season alongside one another, Perez obtained his 2024 marketing campaign off to a promising begin. However his type nose-dived quickly afterwards and Pink Bull discovered themselves inundated with questions over whether or not they would do a U-turn over their determination to increase his contract till the top of 2026.
As the ultimate race approached, Pink Bull lastly admitted his place could be reviewed after the top of the season. After he was blamelessly eradicated on the primary lap of the season finale, Perez stated they may focus on “what’s finest for everybody going ahead.”
After the season he’s had, it’s onerous to think about Pink Bull persevering with with him for one more, not to mention two. Right here’s how unhealthy it obtained for Perez in 2021.
One good quarter
Perez ended the season in such poor type it was simple to miss the actual fact he made a decent begin to the championship. When Pink Bull’s automobile was at its finest he reeled off 4 podium finishes from the primary 5 races, and accomplished one-twos for the group in three of these.
Six factors in he lay second within the standings on 103 factors. Extremely, he scored lower than half that – simply 49 factors – over the remaining three-quarters of the season.
One stunning third
Perez’s type over the ultimate third of the yr stood in sharpest distinction to the beginning of the season. From these eight rounds he took simply 9 factors; Verstappen picked up 134 over the identical interval, out-scoring his group mate by an element of just about 15.
Throughout that point 11 different drivers scored extra factors than the motive force of the second Pink Bull, together with the drivers from their closest rivals McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari. The others who claimed extra factors than Perez additionally included Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg (each Haas), Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon (each Alpine). Perez solely picked up one level greater than RB’s Yuki Tsunoda over this era.
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Widest hole in championship
Whereas Verstappen clinched the drivers’ championship with two rounds to spare, Perez put a lock on eighth within the standings on the subsequent spherical. That meant the pair ended the season seven locations aside within the championship – the widest margin of any pair of group mates who entered each spherical.
No-scores
Perez failed to attain in any respect in one-third of this yr’s grands prix. On 4 of these events he was labeled exterior the factors, together with in Baku the place he collided with Carlos Sainz Jnr.
He went out in a first-lap crash with Kevin Magnussen in Monaco, slid right into a barrier in Canada, spun at a restart in Qatar and was taken out by Valtteri Bottas in Abu Dhabi.
No wins
The 2024 season set a brand new document for competitiveness as seven completely different drivers gained multiple race every. They got here from 4 completely different groups: McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari and Pink Bull.
Perez was the one full-time driver from these groups who didn’t win all yr. Crew mate Verstappen took probably the most wins of any driver, with 9.
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By no means completed forward
Perez by no means took the chequered flag forward of Verstappen all yr. The one time he out-scored his group mate was when a technical drawback took Verstappen out in Melbourne.
Spent least time forward
To complete forward you’ve obtained to get forward, and Perez hardly did that. He was the one driver who contested the complete season however spent lower than 100 laps forward of his group mate. Verstappen led his group mate for 1,132 laps, Perez was forward for 77, most of which have been in Baku.
Over all the season, Perez was forward of Verstappen on-track simply 6.3% of the time – the bottom determine he has recorded over his 4 seasons at Pink Bull.
Worst share of factors
Perez’s factors rating was the bottom of his time at Pink Bull, however that’s partly to do with the efficiency of their automobile and their rivals’ as a lot as his.
Extra tellingly, he additionally made his smallest contribution to Pink Bull’s factors haul since he joined them. He scored simply 25.8% of the group’s factors, in comparison with 32.4% in his first season with them.
Verstappen’s championship-winning rating of 437 this yr occurs to be precisely the identical as Perez has scored within the final two years mixed: 152 this yr and 285 final season.
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Greatest qualifying defeat
Perez solely narrowly averted a whitewash in qualifying this yr. Verstappen out-qualified him 23-1, the widest margin between any pair of group mates this yr.
The one respite got here in Baku, the place Perez got here out forward after 33 straight losses (together with the second half of 2023). Verstappen had a ragged run by Q3 and ended up two-tenths of a second off his group mate.
Greatest lap time deficit
The qualifying contest between the pair was not solely one-sided, Verstappen was comfortably additional forward of his group mate every time of asking. Over the season he averaged 0.45 seconds per lap sooner (excluding classes we deemed unrepresentative e.g. on account of rain).
Stats: Perez vs Verstappen in 2024
Season abstract
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Head-to-heads
Qualifying efficiency
Unrepresentative comparisons omitted. Adverse worth: Perez was sooner; Constructive worth: Verstappen was sooner
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