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Sergio Perez is “100 percent” confident he will still be with Red Bull next season after laughing off speculation he is poised to announce his retirement from F1.
The suggestion was that Perez would choose his home grand prix in Mexico next weekend to confirm his plans and call time on a career that now spans more than 250 grands prix.
Red Bull driver Perez confirmed to reading the article, to which he remarked that he ended up “just laughing”.
“There’s nothing I can do, you know,” said Perez, speaking ahead of this weekend’s United States Grand Prix. “I’m fully focused on my job, and I’ve been pretty busy in the sim as well.
“That (article) really sums up my season – a guy says something about me and then all of a sudden it becomes true.
“I have a contract for next year and I have no reason to not keep that contract.
“I’m going to give my very best to it. I’ve made a commitment, and more than that, it will not be my final contract in F1.”
Asked whether he was ‘100 percent’ confident he would be with Red Bull in 2024, he succinctly replied: “100 percent”.
Pressed on the matter, he insisted: “I have a contract and I’ve had conversations with the team as well, so there’s no reason for me not to fulfil that contract.”
Perez’s obvious desire is to go beyond the deal into 2025 with Red Bull – “I am with Red Bull and I want to stay with Red Bull” – although it would require a major uptick in form for that to happen, especially with many suitors eyeing the seat.
After a brief resurgence following a dismal run, Perez has again slumped over the last two races in Japan, collecting a solitary point in contrast to three-time champion Max Verstappen’s winning rampage.
Perez has no qualms in declaring himself “lost” for those two events, especially in Qatar where he was unable to find the right setup in the sole practice session, and from which he was unable to recover for the remainder of the weekend.
After working hard with his engineers since the race at the Lusail International Circuit, and holding talks with team principal Christian Horner, Perez is again adamant he has “the full support of the team”.
The 33-year-old concedes that what he is currently enduring is “difficult” but he has no doubt he will soon be back to his best.
“It’s not ideal when you go through a difficult period of your career,” said Perez.
“But I just love the challenge of getting back at it. The easiest thing would be to just walk out of it, but that’s not me, that’s not who I am, and I will not give up.
“I have zero doubts that I will be back to my best level, and that is the only target I have in mind.
“I’m not even thinking about retirement or anything like that. That’s just the easy route.”
