Amidst the recent speculations and rumours swirling around Red Bull’s Sergio Perez’s potential retirement from Formula 1, the Mexican driver has emphatically quashed these suggestions.
This comes in the wake of a challenging season for Perez, marked by an unfortunate series of incidents, including his untimely exit from the Qatar Grand Prix.
During the Qatar Grand Prix weekend, while his teammate, Max Verstappen, celebrated his world title victory, Perez endured a tumultuous time, culminating in multiple penalties for track limit breaches and an early exit from the sprint race.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner suggested that a candid discussion with Perez was needed to address the situation.
Want to work in Formula 1? Browse the latest F1 job vacancies
He also mentioned that Red Bull’s driver pairing appeared unbalanced compared to their rivals at Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren.
In the aftermath of the Qatari event, speculations emerged that Perez might announce his retirement during his home race, the Mexican Grand Prix, scheduled for the end of October.
However, Perez, who is under contract with Red Bull until 2024, has firmly rejected these rumours.
He expressed his amusement at the unfounded chatter and made it clear that he sees his future in Formula 1 extending beyond his existing contract.
Perez responded to the retirement rumours, stating, “I’m just laughing at it.
“There’s nothing I can do. I am fully focused on my job.
“That really sums up my season.
“A guy said something about me and then all of a sudden, it becomes true.
“But I have a contract for next year and I have no reason not to complete that contract. I’m going to give my very best to it.
“I’ve done a commitment.
“But more than that, it will not be my final contract in F1.”
Addressing the challenges he has faced during his current stint with Red Bull, Perez attributed some of his difficulties to the in-season development of the RB19 car, which affected his confidence in corner entry.
Despite the adversity, Perez emphasised his determination to overcome these obstacles and dismissed retirement as the “easy” way out.
Perez explained his perspective, saying, “It is difficult, of course.
“It’s not ideal when you go through a patch, a difficult period of your career.
“But I just love the challenge of getting back at it. I think the easy thing would be to just walk out of it.
“But that’s not who I am and I will not give up.
“I will have zero doubts that I will be back to my best level, and that is my only target that I have in mind.
“I’m not even thinking about retirement or anything like that because that is the easy route.”
While Red Bull has consistently maintained that Perez will remain with the team for the next season, there have been speculations about a potential mid-season driver change.
Some have even suggested that Daniel Ricciardo, currently racing for AlphaTauri, might return as Verstappen’s teammate if Perez fails to regain his confidence.
READ: Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz to battle golf professionals
Regarding his future at Red Bull beyond his existing contract, Perez stated, “I’m not thinking about that, but I’m just enjoying it at the moment.
“I’m 33, I think I got some good years ahead of me. As an athlete, you want to maximize your career…
“I’m with Red Bull, and I want to stay with Red Bull, but obviously it has to work out for both sides.”