Perez's father hopes his son will return to Formula One
Antonio Perez Garibay, father of Sergio Perez, believes his son deserves another opportunity in Formula 1, despite being replaced by Liam Lawson at Red Bull after the 2024 season.
Red Bull announced after the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that Sergio Perez would leave the team with immediate effect after the Milton Keynes-based outfit and the Mexican driver had 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.
Antonio Perez Garibay, father of Sergio Perez, believes his son deserves another opportunity in Formula 1, despite being replaced by Liam Lawson at Red Bull after the 2024 season.
“As he himself said, he will wait these six months. If a good opportunity comes, he will take it. Look how many Formula 1 drivers took a sabbatical and how they came back. Lauda, Raikkonen, Alonso did it: they came back stronger than ever.
"I have no doubt that Sergio will have a good opportunity to come back for more years. He deserves to say goodbye like the big ones," said Perez Sr.
