Formula 1 driver Sergio Pérez is officially leaving Red Bull Racing after four years, announcing jointly with the team that they’ve reached an agreement to part ways before his contract ends.

He will be replaced by Liam Lawson, who has recently driven for the junior RB team, Red Bull announced the next day, giving him a coveted seat alongside four-time world champion Max Versappen.

In a statement Wednesday that aimed to convey an amicable parting, Pérez, 35, of Mexico, thanked the team and wished it “all the best for the future.”

“I’m incredibly grateful for the past four years with Oracle Red Bull Racing and for the opportunity to race with such an amazing Team. Driving for Red Bull has been an unforgettable experience and I’ll always cherish the successes we achieved together,” he said. “A special thank you to the fans around the world, and especially to the Mexican fans for your unwavering support every day. We’ll meet again soon. And remember… Never give up.”

Lawson said on Thursday that he’s thrilled by the promotion.

“To be announced as an Oracle Red Bull Racing Driver is a lifelong dream for me, this is something I’ve wanted and worked towards since I was eight years old,” Lawson said, thanking team bosses and “the whole Red Bull family for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. I am super excited to work alongside Max and learn from a World Champion, I have no doubt I will learn from his expertise. I can’t wait to get going!”

Pérez is leaving after a poor season when he failed to muster any victories for the first time in his four years with Red Bull. He struggled to get on top of the evolving car and finished a lowly eighth in the championship, while teammate Verstappen finished first. Rumors of an early exit — even though he had a contract for next year — have circulated for months.

Pérez doesn’t have a racing seat for next season, and the move could be the end of his Formula 1 career, which began in 2011.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner thanked “Checo” — his nickname — “for all he has done for Oracle Red Bull Racing over the past four seasons” and highlighted the team’s “first 1-2 finish in the Drivers’ championship” last year.

“His five wins, all on street circuits, were also a spectacular mark of his determination to always push to the limit. While Checo will not race for the Team next season, he will always be an extremely popular Team member and a treasured part of our history,” Horner said.

Pérez’s highlights with the team include a thrilling wheel-to-wheel battle in 2021 with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in the final race of the season, which Verstappen later said helped him win that year’s world championship, as well as victories in circuits on the streets of Monaco; Baku, Azerbaijan; and Saudi Arabia.

Prior to the decision, Horner recently indicated to F1 reporters that the two candidates to replace Pérez would be Lawson or Yuki Tsunoda, his teammate at RB, which is known for auditioning drivers for the senior team. The decision to promote Lawson is a blow to the more experienced Tsunoda.

Lawson told NBC News last month he’d embrace the opportunity to drive for Red Bull alongside Verstappen.

“I have no idea if that’s possible or not, but obviously that’s my goal — to be in Formula 1 full time, and obviously I’m here to try and win a world championship, as well, and the best place to do that is at Red Bull,” Lawson said, adding that there was “no time frame” for such a decision.

He said his goal was simply “trying to secure a seat next year, wherever that may be, and then in the future, obviously, the goal is to go to Red Bull.”