Marko: Perez might attempt a comeback a year later
Red Bull's motorsport director Dr Helmut Marko reckons that Sergio Perez might attempt a comeback into Formula One after a year absence from the pinnacle of motorsport.
Red Bull announced after the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that Sergio Perez would leave the team with immediate effect as the Milton Keynes-based outfit and the Mexican driver reached an agreement to part ways ahead of next season.
The decision put an end to the speculation of recent months, and means that the Mexican driver will leave the Austro-British outfit despite the deal that would have seen the 34-year-old driver race for the team until the end of 2026.
The Guadalajara-born driver joined Red Bull in 2021, and helped his team-mate Max Verstappen win his first championship title that year, playing a pivotal role at the title-deciding 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
However, he has failed to deliver a consistent performance over the last couple of years. Perez has won five races with Red Bull, and finished second in the Drivers' Championship last year, but he has endured periods during which he simply struggled for outright pace in qualifying.
After a strong start to the 2024 season, Red Bull elected to extend his contract by a further two years which would see Perez race for the Milton Keynes-based outfit until at least the end of the 2026 F1 season. However, the Mexican struggled for pace after his contract extension.
Reflecting on the decision, Red Bull's motorsport director Dr Helmut Marko has now revealed that it took time for Perez to accept that he could not regain his top form.
“It’s an acceptable outcome for both sides when you consider the contracts. At first, he didn’t believe it. He kept hoping to rediscover his best form repeatedly.”
“He won five races with us and finished as runner-up in the world championship, but it just didn’t work out. He eventually understood he couldn’t come back from this and that parting ways was the best option.”
In total, Perez completed four seasons and 90 race starts with Red Bull, and enjoyed the most successful spell of his 13 years in Formula One.
As well as scoring five wins, including victory at the Monaco Grand Prix and a pair of Azerbaijan Grand Prix wins that earned him a reputation as ‘F1’s King of the Streets’, the Mexican racer helped the team to two Constructors’ Championship titles, in 2022 and 2023. As a title runner-up in his own regard last year, he also sealed the Red Bull’s first one-two finish in the Drivers’ standings.
The Austrian, who himself competed in several race series, including 10 Formula One Grands Prix in 1971 and 1972, suggested that the Mexican driver might attempt a comeback in a year's time.
“I think he still holds aspirations for Formula 1, although all the seats for next year are taken. However, if he sits out a year, as an experienced driver, new opportunities could always arise.”
