Sergio Pérez is fighting quicksand, and losing

In the closing minutes of Saturday’s first segment of qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Sergio Pérez put his RB20 into the barrier, ending his session.

The barrier might as well have been quicksand.

Longtime readers of my NFL work might understand the comparison, but for the newer readers of my Formula 1 work, an explanation is in order. I have long maintained that one of the best movies about being an athlete — football player or not — is The Replacements. The film covers a fictional NFL player’s strike and the stories of the former football players who cross the picket line for one last shot at glory.

At one point in the film the coach brought in to guide this ragtag group of athletes, portrayed by Gene Hackman, asks the players what it is they fear. After some humorous responses, including one player mentioning spiders, quarterback Shane Falco — played perfectly by Keanu Reeves — mentions quicksand as his biggest fear.

Because of what “quicksand” does to you as an athlete.

“You’re playing, and you think everything is going fine. Then one thing goes wrong. And then another. And another. You try to fight back, but the harder you fight, the deeper you sink. Until you can’t move… you can’t breathe… because you’re in over your head. Like quicksand.”

Right now Pérez is in quicksand, and he might be getting over his head.

Red Bull announced a new contract for the driver ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, a new deal that could keep him in his current seat through 2026, and was thought would end all the ongoing speculation over his status at Red Bull.

But Saturday’s dismal qualifying performance just added to a growing list of mistakes for Pérez, mistakes that have seen him bank just 15 points since the Miami Grand Prix at the start of May. Following the Miami Grand Prix Pérez was second in the F1 Drivers’ Championship standings with 103 points, just 33 points behind teammate Max Verstappen in first.

Now? Pérez sits seventh with 118 points, 137 points behind Verstappen and just seven points ahead of eighth-place George Russell.

This run of poor form has opened the door to further speculation regarding Pérez’s status at Red Bull, not just for 2025 but potentially for the rest of the season. Recent weeks have seen reports of “performance clauses” emerge, and the idea that Red Bull — facing a true title fight this season in the Constructors’ Championship — would seek to solidify their position by promoting one of the other drivers in their stable.

Following the British Grand Prix, where Pérez finished outside of the points, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner referred to Pérez’s current level of performance as “unsustainable,” and Saturday’s mistake in Hungary is just another example of what Red Bull does not need at the moment. And given that overtaking is a near impossibility at the Hungaroring, it is very likely that absent something special Pérez finishes outside of the points.

Immediately after his mistake in Q1 former Red Bull driver David Coulthard talked on F1TV about what drivers — what athletes — endure during a crisis of confidence. Coulthard described how, when you are second-guessing yourself, nothing comes naturally. Every action, every decision, comes slower.

That is what Pérez is dealing with right now. He is fighting through a crisis of confidence.

He is fighting through quicksand.

How much time Pérez has to continue his fight against quicksand remains to be seen. Ideally, the driver, new contract in hand, would be given the time to fight through his current crisis of confidence.

But with McLaren in a position to cut deeper into Red Bull’s lead at the top of the Constructors’ Championship, thanks to Saturday’s front-row lockout by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, at some point over the next few weeks Red Bull may face a difficult decision.

Because right now, Pérez looks like he is in over his head.

Like he is in quicksand.