Red Bull driver Sergio Perez has addressed the myriad rumors surrounding his possible retirement. After facing pressure on the track, especially regarding his performance in the RB20, the Mexican driver spoke about his mindset and future plans.
Despite harsh mid-season criticism, the Red Bull driver remains adamant about taking the “easy path” out of the sport. In an interview with DAZN, Perez explained:
“For the last six months I thought about it and it took me three seconds to make a decision.
“Now that all these years have passed, in a way it would be easier in the end to just give up and leave.
“I would never have been able to forgive myself.”
After a season in which the limits of Perez’s car became apparent and even troubled teammate Max Verstappen, attention to Perez’s performance has increased even more. Despite this, Red Bull Racing showed their faith in him, choosing to keep his seat midway through the season and introducing Liam Lawson as a potential future candidate.
Perez, who is 34 years old and has until next season on his contract, knows the importance of maintaining his performance.
For Perez, the decision when to leave F1 is a deeply personal one. He added:
“I want to finish my career when I want, not when someone tells me to.
“That’s my main focus: getting to a point where I can decide my future.
“At the moment I’m very motivated and the truth is I really want to continue in F1. I’m enjoying it.
“I really enjoy it, especially the good moments, but I also learn to enjoy the bad moments as well.
“At the moment I have two years left on my contract, two years in F1 is a long time, but I know it’s coming to an end.
“I don’t see him running here like Fernando Alonso, for example. I have a lot of respect for everything he does at this age.
“It’s not that I don’t want to, but I have young children and I want to spend more time with them. At the end of the day, that’s going to be the limit.”
Perez currently sits eighth in the drivers’ standings with 144 points, behind George Russell on 155 points and comfortably ahead of Fernando Alonso on 62 points.
1. Max Verstappen – 331 points
2. Lando Norris – 279 points
3. Charles Leclerc – 245 points
4. Oscar Piastri – 237 points
5. Carlos Sainz – 190 points
6th place Lewis Hamilton – 174 points
7. George Russell – 155 points
8. Sergio Perez – 144 points
9. Fernando Alonso – 62
10th Nico Hulkenberg – 24 points
11. Lance Stroll – 24 points
12. Hiroki Tsunoda – 22 points
13. Alex Albon – 12 points
14. Daniel Ricciardo – 12 points
15. Pierre Gasly – 8 points
16. Oliver Bearman – 7 points
17. Kevin Magnussen – 6 points
18. Esteban Ocon – 5 points
19. Franco Colapinto – 4 points
20. Zhou Guanyu – 0 points
21. Logan Sargent – 0 points
22. Valtteri Bottas – 0 points
