Sergio Perez Opens Up On F1 Return After 'Unexpected' Red Bull Axe

Saajan Jogia | Jan 11, 2025

Oct 19, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Oracle Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez (11) of Team Mexico waves to the crowd during a fan forum before the Sprint Race in the 2024 Formula One US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Former Red Bull Formula 1 driver Sergio Perez has revealed his life's current priority and opened up on his chances of returning to the sport. Red Bull parted ways with Perez after the 2024 season, replacing him with reserve driver Liam Lawson.

The Mexican driver faced a tough season, securing four podium finishes early on but later experienced a drop in form that left him struggling to finish races in the points.

The RB20 F1 car's balance issues worsened his challenges, with poor handling and lack of pace further hindering his performance.

In an effort to motivate him, Red Bull signed a two-year contract extension with Perez, hoping to boost his performance, but it failed to yield results.

The points gap between Perez and his former teammate Max Verstappen continued to grow, ultimately costing Red Bull the Constructors' Championship to McLaren and second place to Ferrari.

Verstappen, who also bore the brunt of the RB20's balance problems, managed to secure his fourth championship victory, which highlighted the performance disparity between both drivers even more.

After the Abu Dhabi season finale, the points gap between the two Red Bull drivers was 285 points. Thus, the shareholders of Red Bull decided to end the journey with the 34-year-old driver.

Now though, Perez said he needs six months to decide about his F1 return as he currently focuses on spending time with his family, something he was unable to do during his busy schedule as an F1 driver.

Perez pointed out he never expected to be ousted, and that his biggest motivation is to remain involved with his children. When asked if he would consider returning to the sport in the future, he said:

"My priority is to enjoy myself, to do things I haven't done before, to be with my family.

"In the next six months, I will make a decision about what I want for the next step in my career.

"It's too early to give an answer as to whether I intend to return to Formula 1. 

"Everything happened so quickly at the end of last season, I didn't expect to leave the team.

"My biggest motivation now is to guide my children along the right path and be more present in their lives. I am very excited to be with my family because in F1 you only think about being a better driver, preparing yourself better, you don't have time for anything else."

2025 Formula One Season Schedule

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• Event Name: FORMULA 1 ARAMCO PRE-SEASON TESTING 2025
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