Red Bull have insisted that there is no truth behind rumours that Sergio Perez is set to announce his retirement from Formula 1, amid his current woeful form.
It was rumoured over the weekend that Perez was set to announce his retirement at the Mexican Grand Prix next weekend, with Daniel Ricciardo to replace him in 2024.
Perez’s management team were quick to quash the rumours, whilst Red Bull have confirmed themselves that there is “absolutely nothing to it”.
“There’s absolutely nothing to it,” a Red Bull spokesman told Auto Motor und Sport.
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Even Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko has admitted that Perez retiring is something he knows nothing about, as the rumour is fake.
“I don’t know anything about that,” Marko admitted.
Whilst Perez isn’t set to announce his retirement, he does need to find some form in rapid fashion.
He enters this weekend’s United States Grand Prix just 30 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton, in the fight for second in the Drivers’ Championship.
If Perez were to be beaten to second come the end of the season, then it’d be seen as an unacceptable situation, given how superior the RB19 is over the W14.
Red Bull will be annoyed if Perez doesn’t claim P2, with the Milton Keynes-based side having never claimed a 1-2 in the Drivers’ Championship before.
With five races remaining, the pressure is very much on the 33-year-old, who has scored just five points across the last three events.
This weekend being a sprint weekend will also likely work against Perez, who has struggled in recent sprint events as the sessions often take part in varying track conditions.
Checo struggles when the conditions change, regardless of if that’s simply a change in track temperature or a change in weather.
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A concerning factor for the Mexican driver then is that the conditions could change considerably at each of the final five events, putting him at a disadvantage even before getting into his cockpit.
Making it into Q3 is the first priority for Perez for the remainder of the season, as that alone has been a struggle for him recently.
By qualifying in the top-10, he’ll at least be in a better position to score big points, rather than if he’s around P12 or P13.