Sergio Perez claims that he knows that “deep down” Red Bull is “very sorry” for dumping him at the end of 2024.
To be fair, the Mexican did little to help his cause, for while Christian Horner was fighting in his corner, Perez’s form clearly dropped off following the summer break, and by season end it was inevitable that there was no way back and he was released early from his contract, albeit with a sizable pay-off.
“Deep down, they are very sorry and I know this from a very good source,” he tells the Desde el Paddock podcast.
“In the end, that’s how the sport is,” he adds. “Decisions were made because there was too much pressure that they themselves ended up creating.
“There was a lot of pressure on my side of the garage, it was putting a lot of pressure on the engineers, on everyone involved, and I think in the end that ended up costing us a lot.”
The pressure he talks of isn’t so much his lack of performance but the Horner saga that hung over the team before the season had even begun, the effects of which saw a number of high-profile departures and threatened to tear the team apart.
While the saga has (outwardly) been put to bed, Red Bull’s travails continue, Perez’ immediate replacement was dropped after just two outings and Yuki Tsunoda is faring little better.
“People might think I’m happy about it,” says the Mexican, “but no. We had a great team, and in the end it fell apart, little by little.”
Like fellow-veteran Valtteri Bottas, Perez is being linked with the new Cadillac team, and the Mexican admits that he does want a return to the grid.
“Yes, I do, if the right project comes along that I feel is where I should be,” he says. “I want to go back because I don’t want to end my career like this,” he adds. “I’ll go back if it’s worth paying the price to be in F1.
“I’m in no rush, he insists, “we’ll see what happens next year.”
