David Coulthard has defended criticism from Sergio Perez fans after he commented on the ex-Red Bull Formula 1 driver’s future.
Perez was replaced by Liam Lawson after an underwhelming 2024 season for the Milton Keynes-based outfit as he finished 285 points behind the eventual champion – his team-mate Max Verstappen.
Multiple Q1 exits and eight finishes outside the top 10 – 2024 was a season to forget for the Mexican driver as the rumours surrounding his position at Red Bull started to circulate towards the end of the season.
Former F1 racing driver, Coulthard, shared his opinion on the Perez saga before the confirmation of his exit was announced.
“Checo is a very good human being, but it’s painful to watch the resistance to the facts, and I can only assume it’s a management play,” he said on the Formula For Success podcast.
“Julian Jakobi is his manager — Julian we know and respect for many years; [he’s an] intelligent, good manager.
“But his job is to make sure the money is there.
“So I can only imagine it’s about trying to negotiate the biggest payoff possible to get him to go of his own accord, rather than basically say, ‘Okay, we’re paying you whatever we’d agreed to pay you for next year, but we’re not giving you a race car.’
“Which could happen, but it would be such a shame.”
Coulthard responds to backlash over his assessment of Perez
The 34-year-old joined Red Bull after the 2020 season and he went on to win five races for the team after four seasons.
But Perez will now be forced to sit out on the sidelines, which Coulthard rightly predicted.
Despite expressing how he felt it would be a “shame” for him to lose his seat, fans of Perez criticised the 53-year-old’s analysis – to which Coulthard has since responded.
Speaking on the latest episode of his podcast, Formula For Success, he explained: “I voiced an opinion on this very show ahead of the end of the season and I just felt it was a standoff between himself and his management.
“I took some heat from Mexico, all sorts of the usual vitriol, ‘What would you know? What have you ever achieved?’ and all that good stuff.
“But the fact is, I was merely basing an opinion on the facts.
“The facts are Checo, if it was a personality contest and one of the most liked drivers in the paddock contest, would still be in the seat – he’s a brilliant man.
“He has done a great job, and he has won lots of Grand Prix, and he can be incredibly proud of his performance,” he added.
“But, last season, he didn’t match Max and it cost the team valuable points in the Constructors’ Championship.
“So an agreement has been found where he will still be involved with the brand in some way, but clearly not behind the steering wheel of the Red Bull Racing car.”
READ MORE: Sergio Perez reveals wait until he decides whether to pursue F1 comeback
