Is Perez counting on a return to F1? Marko answers
After his fourth season, Sergio Perez had to say goodbye to his seat at Red Bull Racing. The Austrians made the decision to replace him with Liam Lawson, and without a seat at a different team, the Mexican will have to sit on the sidelines. The team's external advisor, Helmut Marko, however believes that Perez still focuses on the series.
Perez hopes for F1 Return?
After the 2024 season, Red Bull Racing decided to let Perez go at the end of the season, after the Mexican already survived a mid-season meeting. 'Checo' failed to get on the podium since the Chinese GP, he was the only driver with a frontrunner car that failed to win a race, and was consistently behind Max Verstapped by quite a gap. Helmut Marko explained that Perez didn't see that happening earlier in the season.
"At the beginning he didn't. He kept hoping to find his old form again and again," the Austrian began to Sport.de. "He won five Grands Prix with us and finished as sub-world champion last year."
"Only that [finding his old form again] didn't work out," Marko continued. "Then he also finally realised that a resurgence in this setting was not possible for him and that parting ways would be best. There are still all kinds of possibilities for him in the future."
The advisor also shared that he thinks Perez is still eying a return to the competition. "I think he still hopes for Formula 1, although of course all the seats for next year have been given away. But if he sits on the sidelines for one year, then of course, as an experienced driver, there can always be new opportunities for him," Marko concluded.
This article was written in collaboration with Sandy van Wijngaarden
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