“How does this guy have a seat for next year”: F1 fans left astonished after Sergio Perez’s latest ‘embarrassment’

Fans took a sarcastic dig at Red Bull's Sergio Perez after Franco Colapinto overtook him in the pitlane at the start of the 2024 F1 Qatar GP Sprint. Perez was stopped at the pit exit when Colapinto rolled in from his garage, gaining an advantage on the standing Red Bull.

Following Perez's poor qualifying on Friday, the team made changes to his car under Parc Ferme conditions, which gave him a pitlane start. He was joined by Williams' Colapinto, who is the least experienced driver on the grid.

As the lights went out and Lando Norris led the race, Perez pushed out of the pitlane. However, he was slow compared to Colapinto, who seemingly caught him and got ahead.

Fans found it quite amusing that a driver who has so far only taken part in seven races got a better start than Perez, who has been on the grid since the 2011 season. That, matched with the Mexican's recent performances, led to quite a few sarcastic digs on social media. One user wrote:

"How does this guy have a seat for next year"

"This is Embarrassment," wrote a fan.

"Mad stuff. It’s not even funny anymore," another comment read.

Perez has been in the spotlight because of his inconsistent performances. There have been speculation that Red Bull might replace him in 2025 despite giving him a two-year extension earlier this year.

"What a waste of a seat," claimed a user.

"Bro, I’ve been a checo [Sergio Perez] fan ever since he came to RB. But now he’s not even trying. It’s embarrassing really," another fan wrote.

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Sergio Perez confident of driving for Red Bull in 2025 despite recent speculation

As mentioned, the 34-year-old hasn't been performing consistently. There is a huge gap when compared to his teammate Max Verstappen's performance. Moreover, the team has also slipped to third place in the constructors' standings despite Verstappen's triumph in the drivers' championship.

These results from Sergio Perez have led to speculation that he might be replaced in 2025. However, the Mexican is rather confident that he will be driving for Red Bull next season.

"There’s a reason why we extended my contract during the year, and the team has everything [they need to know]. We exactly know where we are in terms of performance, in terms of issues, difficulties that we’ve had."

"We are a team and we know exactly internally where everything stands, so we’re working really hard as a team to come through and get back into a much better season than the one that we just had," Sergio Perez said via F1.

When asked if he was completely sure of racing with RBR in 2025 as well, Perez said:

"Yeah, exactly."

His current contract with Red Bull binds him with the team till the 2026 season.