"This has become much bigger than a driver": Sergio Perez makes his feelings known about his Red Bull future
Red Bull driver Sergio Perez claimed that his future with Red Bull relied on aspects that were 'much bigger than the driver'. Despite the former world champions giving him a contract extension before Monaco, the Mexican has been under pressure owing to his decline in performances after the Miami GP.
The six-time race winner finished the 2024 season with just 152 points in a lowly P8 in the driver's championship. However, there were strong rumors about Perez's exit throughout the season, and heading into the weekend in Abu Dhabi, there were strong suggestions that the race at the Yas Marina Circuit could be his last.
As quoted by Autosport, Sergio Perez addressed the reports of exit from Red Bull and said:
"I wouldn't say this is the end. This has become much bigger than a driver, it has a whole country and whole continent behind me."
The 34-year-old, though, addressed his current predicament and claimed that if the situation doesn't change in the coming weeks, he would continue to drive with Red Bull given he has a contract for next year. :
"I just know I've got a contract to race next year," Perez said. "Unless something changes in the coming days, that's going to be the situation for next year. I think at the moment, all I can say is I've got a contract, that I signed up in the middle of the year to race for the team for the next three years."
"So we'll see what happens and how the conversation goes in the coming days. Like I say, we're going to be talking in a couple of days. We will discuss what is the situation for both parties and see if we're able to reach an agreement. Like I say, I've got a contract for next year,” he added (via the aforementioned source).
Sergio Perez has reportedly brought a lot of investment to the Red Bull F1 team due to his sponsors from North America. Given his popularity in Latin America, the Austrian brand has benefited from merchandise sales over his four years with the brand.
Red Bull team boss comments on giving Sergio Perez an early contract extension
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said the decision to give Sergio Perez a contract before the Monaco GP "didn't work" as he failed to pick up his performances.
Speaking to F1.com, the Brit said:
“Obviously at the time, Sergio was performing extremely well. I think he had four podiums in the first five races. And in order to settle his mind and extend that run of form for the rest of the season, we elected to go early, which obviously didn't work. So, that's just life sometimes."
Sergio Perez finished the 2024 season with four podiums to his name, all of which came in the first five races, with his last coming at the Chinese Grand Prix in late April.