His plans

F1 retirement already fixed? Perez talks about the end of his career

Sergio Perez(Bild: Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Is Sergio Perez's retirement from Red Bull already sealed? In the run-up to the Qatar Grand Prix, the 34-year-old spoke openly about his plans after the end of his career in Formula 1.

For Perez, the weekend in Qatar has not gone according to plan so far. As so often this season, the Mexican did not make it past SQ3 in sprint qualifying. He only starts the sprint race from 16th position.

Sergio Perez(Bild: APA/AFP)

In the meantime, hardly anyone can imagine that Perez will stay with Red Bull for another year. The Constructors' Championship had to be written off early on due to the Mexican's poor performance. He had no chance against his team-mate Max Verstappen. Since the Monaco Grand Prix in May, Perez has only managed to score 45 points.

In the run-up to the Qatar weekend, Perez spoke openly about his time after Formula 1 at a Honda press event: "I think one of the reasons why I will stop at some point will be because I've had enough. With our busy schedule, I want to spend more time with my family and my young children," he said.

Doing one or two races a year is something you consider as a driver. It's hard to stop completely.

Sergio Perez

No IndyCar, but interested in endurance racing
He has no ambitions to compete in the prestigious IndyCar series. "I have great respect for what the drivers achieve at Indianapolis. But the thought of driving at such speeds and taking the risk of serious accidents after my career is not for me," says Perez.

Instead, he is thinking about individual appearances in endurance races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans or Daytona. "Doing one or two races a year is something you consider as a driver. It's hard to stop completely."

Despite the critical voices, Perez remains combative: "I am confident that I can fight back". Let's wait and see ...