Yahoo Autos F1 Mexico City Grand Prix: Sergio Perez Seeks to Turn Around ‘Terrible Season'
Sergio Perez is under contract with Red Bull for two more seasons, but that hasn't stopped the whispers that his job is in jeopardy.
The rumor mill has it that Oscar Piastri might be able to be lured from McLaren to replace Perez.
McLaren racer Piastri, though, is clear that he has no interest in upping ship to replace Perez.
Sergio Perez holds a multi-year contract with Red Bull Racing but arrives on home soil under pressure to prove that it should be honored.
Perez has slumped to eighth in this year’s Drivers’ Championship and his poor return of points has left Red Bull Racing under pressure to even hold on to second in the Constructors’ Championship.
Perez fended off the threat posed by Daniel Ricciardo at RB but the Australian’s replacement, Liam Lawson, made an immediate impression by racing from 19th to ninth on his return to Formula 1 in Austin.
Perez is lauded on home soil at the Mexico City Grand Prix, to where Formula 1 has moved on this weekend, and he is in desperate need of an upturn in performance.
Perez did not have the updated RB20 at COTA but still struggled to finish only seventh, and he has not mounted the podium since the fifth round of the season in China, way back in April.
“I know I’ve had a terrible season, a very difficult one. It started well but then it’s been difficult. And if I get a strong result [in Mexico] it can definitely change my season massively. So I’m really up for it.
“I think momentum in Formula 1 is very important. If you just put the car on track and everything is working you are so much further ahead of the people that put the car on the track and have a lot of problems.
“I also know how this sports works and it’s all about the last race. If I get a good one here, then my season can definitely take a huge turn.
“The most important is that we are able to find this and to feel comfortable with the car which at the moment we are just not able to unlock the full potential of the car. We go to the weekends, try a lot of things, different things every weekend so it makes the whole Grand Prix a lot more difficult.”
Perez finished on the podium in Mexico City during his first two years in Red Bull colors, in 2021 and 2022, though retired last year after an overly opportunistic crack at taking the lead resulted in a collision.
Restoring himself to the podium is an outcome that Perez—and Red Bull—would desperately welcome come Sunday.
“As a racing driver, you have no regrets when you give it all, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t,” Perez said.
“As long as I give it all this weekend again and don’t leave anything on the table, I’ll go home and be happy regardless of the result. That’s my main target. It would be better for the people because the amount of support I get here is really insane.”
Red Bull’s stirrer-in-chief Helmut Marko suggested earlier in the week to the F1-Insider website that Oscar Piastri’s management, which includes ex-Red Bull racer Mark Webber, had called out the team over its future plans.
McLaren racer Piastri, though, is clear that he has no interest in upping ship to replace Perez.
“I'm very happy where I am, I'm under contract for the next two years after this, and I'm certainly not looking to go elsewhere,” Piastri said. “It wouldn't be a week in F1 without some comments from Helmut.”
