Red Bull driver Sergio Perez has reiterated his stance that he’s not going anywhere anytime soon following recent F1 retirement rumours. Perez was the centre of speculation that he could announce his retirement from Formula 1 around the time of the Mexico City Grand Prix, with the home hero enduring a difficult run of form in F1 2024. Sergio Perez vows to ‘try again next year’ at Mexican GPPerez was signed to a two-year contract extension by Red Bull earlier this season, taking him through until the end of the F1 2026 season.

But while this may have been a bid to bolster Perez’s confidence and assure his future, a different approach to Red Bull’s previous extensions for Perez, it’s coincided with his least competitive season as a Red Bull F1 driver. Having scored 85 points in the first five race weekends of F1 2024 to help his team sit in a strong lead in the Constructors’ Championship, he has scored just 65 points in the 15 race weekends since. He occupies eighth in the Drivers’ Championship, with Red Bull slumping to third overall.

His performance level has led to all sorts of rumours emerging as the season progressed, such as him being replaced mid-season, at the conclusion of this season, or perhaps announcing his retirement from F1 during his home race weekend in Mexico City. Following the publishing of this rumour, Perez took to social media to share a meme from the 2013 movie The Wolf of Wall Street to proclaim “I’m not leaving” to pour cold water over the speculation. Asked about his social media post in the build-up to the United States Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver told media including PlanetF1.

com: “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. “Then all my fans, obviously I’m very conscious that there are 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 just rumours like this without knowing the facts.

”Perez’s weekend in Mexico duly passed without any shocks, although the home hero endured a weekend to forget. Following on from the disappointment of his first lap collision in 2023, Perez failed to progress beyond Q1 and an electric first-lap proved a false dawn – he was given a time penalty for a false start and duly came home as the last classified runner following a clash with Red Bull stablemate Liam Lawson. Posting on social media after the weekend, Perez shared images from the event as he posed with pictures of the Mexican flag in the Foro Sol stadium section and vowed to try again “next year.

”“Thank you, Mexico. This wasn’t the weekend for us,” he said. “I’ll never give up and I’ll try again next year.

I’m taking all of you in my car with me! ”More on Sergio Perez and Red Bull👉 Eight times Sergio Perez has been the perfect team-mate for Max Verstappen👉 All the mid-season driver swaps Red Bull have made in their F1 historyAntonio Perez Garibay posts proud message for Sergio PerezPerez’s father, Antonio Perez Garibay, may have had little to celebrate on the occasion of this year’s race, but still was an enthusiastic supporter of his son in the paddock. ‘Papa Perez’, who recently recovered from a medical emergency triggered by his son’s clash with Carlos Sainz during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, is well known for his infection and unwavering fandom of his son, and the popular character took to his own Instagram page to pay tribute for what Perez has achieved during his motorsport career.

The post shared images from Perez’s first race, as well as his “last”, and praised him for the journey over the last 12 years of his F1 career. “Your first Formula 1 race of Sergio Perez 2011 Australia Grand Prix,” Perez Garibay posted, “and your last race Mexico Grand Prix 2024. ”“Your maximum pride the most beautiful flag in the world.

“Always together until the end of the movie. Thank you Checo Perez, today you are the most known Mexican on the planet. “You have to be very proud of what you have achieved.

Always remember that the worst race of your life was in Mexico, when you were 12 years old and you were kicked out of karting in your country 2002. “And look at what you have achieved and the best is yet to come. I love you son.

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