Sergio Perez Has Got To “Go”

The title of this article, obviously, offers dual messages about the fate of Red Bull’s No. 2 driver, Mexico’s Sergio Perez. One could mean Perez needs to “leave” Red Bull. The other could mean Perez needs to step up his performance to match what Red Bull expects. These are mixed messages. Mixed messages are also what you might call signing Perez to a two-year contract extension on June 4th that possibly contained a clause stating that the contract could be terminated should Perez not perform up to the standards listed in the contract. Reportedly, the addendum stipulates that if Perez falls 100 points behind Verstappen in the driver standings at specific points of the season, Red Bull has the right to annul the extension.

In short, if the clause kicks in, Perez could be kicked out.

And guess what? For once in his Red Bull career, Perez met a performance clause in his contract. Currently, Perez is 137 points behind Verstappen, and if the clause is, in fact, in the contract, then Red Bull is entirely within its right to annul the extension. 

You can’t blame Red Bull for trying to protect themselves from something they thought likely to happen. And given Perez’s recent performance (15 points in his last six races), Red Bull looks like they knew what they were doing. So, Red Bull extended a driver without having complete confidence in him. And Perez agreed to the contract, which means he did(?) have full confidence in himself. 

I don’t know who Perez’s agent is, but he/she should have advised him to tell Red Bull to shove it up their rear diffuser. 

Who in their right mind actually signs a contract with a clause that penalizes you for your performance, or lack thereof? A simple rewording of the contract and the penalty can become an incentive. As in, “If Perez is more than 100 points behind Verstappen at this point, Red Bull has the right to void the contract” becomes “If Perez is within 100 points of Verstappen at this point, he’s awarded a monetary incentive.” See what I did there?

In the incentive-based contract clause, Red Bull is still protecting itself from Perez’s potential lack of performance, and Perez is protecting himself from being totally out of a job because of his potential lack of performance. It’s much more advantageous for Perez to sign a contract with no clause giving Red Bull an “out” because should they decide to terminate his contract, Red Bull would still be on the hook for…