Perez adds weight to 'Wolf of Wall Street' post with further explanation

F1 News

Sergio Perez explains his Wolf of Wall Street Meme post
18 October at 13:21

Sergio Perez has provided an explanation to the 'Wolf of Wall Street' meme he posted after rumours suggested he would announce his retirement during next weekend's Mexican Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver reiterated he plans to stay in Formula 1.

Perez is contracted to race for Red Bull next season, but there is doubt about his future because his recent form hasn't been strong. Christian Horner recently expressed the need for two strong drivers next year to beat the lineups of McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari. Liam Lawson has received a promotion to the Visa Cash App RB team so Red Bull can gather and compare data with Yuki Tsunoda, while the boss has also named young Red Bull juniors such as Isack Hadjar. He even said they won't be afraid to look outside Red Bull's talent pool, with George Russell publicly mentioned.

F1 will return from a break this weekend with the United States Grand Prix on the schedule. During the hiatus, Perez took to social media to address rumours that he would announce his retirement during the current season. The Mexican reacted with a blunt and sharp message on X. Checo used a scene from The Wolf of Wall Street to underline his message. In it, Leonardo Di Caprio's character says, "I'm not f***ing leaving!" with the caption "Sorry." 

Why did Perez use the meme?

Speaking in the paddock at the US GP, Perez expressed his intentions. "I just felt like it's been every year for the last two years or so that someone creates this rumour and then everyone picks it up," Perez said.

"I'm very conscious that there is a lot of people coming to support me at the Mexican Grand Prix and they probably might be expecting something that is not true. And I felt the need to just say ‘look, I think it's just not correct to spread these rumours like this’, without knowing the facts," Perez continued. 

"I just want to make it clear that I 100% will be here next year; I have a contract and I will fulfil it, and that’s not in my mind. In my mind is to sort out the issues that we have in the car," he added as quoted by the Formula 1 website.