Our Clients:

Field Level Media - Professional sports content solutions | FLM

Nov 13, 2024 1:49 pm

Sergio Perez: Rejected two other offers to stay at Red Bull

sergio perez

Sergio Perez said he rejected opportunities from two other Formula 1 teams to return to Red Bull for the 2025 season.

Perez signed an extension earlier this year but has come under intense scrutiny while falling to eighth in the drivers’ standings. While teammate Max Verstappen is closing in a fourth consecutive championship, the team has dropped to third in the constructor standings with Perez recording only 48 points over the past 15 races.

“I had an opportunity, two opportunities, to change teams,” Perez said in an interview with GQ, without disclosing which teams approached him. “When I looked at it, I thought, I really love the challenge I have at Red Bull.

“It’s a massive challenge being Max’s teammate. It’s a challenge that basically trains you for all of it.

“So, I said I want to spend my last part of my career at the top, at the very top, where the pressure, it’s full-on.”

Team principal Christian Horner has been openly critical of Perez’s form this season, while others have called for Red Bull to replace the 34-year-old driver next season. Multiple names have been tied to various rumors, including young drivers Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto.

The six-time F1 race winner said he isn’t bothered by the rumors, which come with being an F1 driver.

“It’s how the sport is. You have one, two bad races, a lot of negative talk about you and so on,” Perez told GQ.

“But it’s also something in the culture of the team as well — with Red Bull. The surrounding talk, the contract talks and so on. It’s just part of the game.”

Perez hasn’t won this season, and his most recent podium came in China back in April. With three races remaining, he sits 39 points behind Lewis Hamilton and 41 behind George Russell in the standings. Red Bull is 13 points back of Ferrari and 49 behind McLaren in the constructor standings.

“At the end of the day, when you go through a difficult period, there is a lot of talk,” he said. “But ultimately, there is 90 percent of the grid who would have loved to have my career.

“When you are a driver, you only think about the next race — the next challenge, the next category, the next contract. It’s always about next, next, next.

“Sometimes it’s good to step back out of it and remember how far you’ve gone. It’s a very brutal sport.”

–Field Level Media

You may also like

carlos sainz, media
Dec 11, 2024 10:14 am

Carlos Sainz patient, motivated to return Williams to legendary roots

Carlos Sainz knows the process of moving Williams up the Formula 1 grid will take some time, but the 30-year-old Spaniard said his motivation to do so is “unbelievable.” Sainz…

lando norris austin
Dec 8, 2024 11:25 am

Lando Norris wins Abu Dhabi GP as McLaren seals title

Lando Norris held off a pair of Ferrari drivers to win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday, giving McLaren its first constructors’ championship since 1998. McLaren entered the race…

lewis hamilton
Dec 7, 2024 1:11 pm

Lewis Hamilton to start from back in final Mercedes race

Lewis Hamilton will be starting from the rear of the grid on Sunday at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix — his final race with his Mercedes team. Hamilton qualified in…

More Auto Racing News

carlos sainz, media
Dec 11, 2024 10:14 am

Carlos Sainz patient, motivated to return Williams to legendary roots

Carlos Sainz knows the process of moving Williams up the Formula 1 grid will take some time, but the 30-year-old Spaniard said his motivation to do so is “unbelievable.” Sainz…

lando norris austin
Dec 8, 2024 11:25 am

Lando Norris wins Abu Dhabi GP as McLaren seals title

lewis hamilton
Dec 7, 2024 1:11 pm

Lewis Hamilton to start from back in final Mercedes race

Lewis Hamilton
Dec 6, 2024 11:21 pm

Lewis Hamilton: Final season with Mercedes has been ’emotional’ struggle

charles leclerc
Dec 6, 2024 1:08 pm

Ferrari’s title hopes dealt blow with Charles Leclerc grid penalty

Read all
fb-post
advertisment
title-icon

Upcoming events

See all odds