Don’t Ask Sergio Perez if He’s the Right Driver for Red Bull F1 in 2021
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With the championships decided in Formula 1, all eyes turn to the silly season and what Red Bull will do with its prized No. 2 seat in 2021.
By all accounts, the three drivers in the hunt to be Max Verstappen's teammate next year is down to Alex Albon, Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg.
Perez has scored more points than any other driver on the F1 grid outside of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas over the last seven races.
As the Formula 1 season heads into the final three races of the season, the focus is not so much on Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes—they've already won championships.
Much of the focus and whatever drama is left to the 2021 season is a lingering silly season that sill has one prized seat up for grabs. Just who will partner with Max Verstappen at Red Bull in 2021 might just be the story of the last three races of the season.
Heading into Sunday's race at Bahrain, it appears that the best seat available on the grid is coming down to current Red Bull racer Alex Albon, Racing Point's Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg.
Perez, who is a free agent at season's end, is being replaced by Sebastian Vettel at Racing Point in 2021. And Perez is doing everything in his power to make Red Bull decision-makers Helmut Marko and team principal Christian Horner take notice. All Perez has done over the past seven weeks is score more points than anyone on the F1 grid outside of Hamilton and his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.
Just don't ask Perez what he think's about the Red Bull derby and who's in the lead between himself, Albon and Hulkenberg.
"I think that's the wrong question to ask myself," Perez said on Thursday in Bahrain ahead of Sunday's F1 Bahrain Grand Prix. "I can speak myself very up and certainly put myself in pole position, but I don't think it's me who has to judge myself.
"I'm clear on what I want to do," Perez said. "Plan A is obviously to carry on, and Plan B would be to stop for a year, see how I feel without racing—see if I really miss it, see if I really want to come back or if there's other series that I'm interested in doing or if I'd rather just do something else."
Perez, 30, adds that he's even thought about life without motor sport. He has no intention of chasing an IndyCar or sports car ride in 2021 just for the sake of racing.
"Perez said. "I have a lot of interests in other stuff away from racing," Perez, 30, said. "I'm still very young. I can see myself later on doing other businesses away from motor sports. (I wasn't planning on it) in my 30s, but if that comes early, than I'm happy to consider that option as well. I want to see my kids growing and so many other things. Yeah, I can imagine a life without motor sport."
For Perez, it's Formula 1 or nothing.
"I think if I don't have Formula 1 next year, I don't see myself doing anything else," he said. "I would take a year to consider what I want to do, if I really miss it.
"Most of the drivers, they retire, and then after six months they go mad and take what's ever available. I have to see. I've never experienced that. My whole life, I have been into it, so I have to see the life out of the sport, how it is, how it fits me, and see if I miss it or I just want to carry on with that life.
Perez is proud of the fact that the last seven races, he has outscored everyone except Bottas and Hamilton. Even with missing two races earlier this season after testing positive for COVID-19, Perez has moved all the way up to fourth in the drivers standings behind only Hamilton, Bottas and Verstappen.
"Certainly, we've had a good run of races," Perez said. "Very good obviously, but they could have been better. We're just focus on finishing on a high and finishing strong in these last three races.
"Right now, we are just waiting on the decision, what they decide to do. So that's out of my hands. I'm just approaching these three races as usual, trying to focus on the job, keep delivering."
Perez said that he not heard from Red Bull in a while. As for Albon, he's still waiting to hear his fate, as well. Recently Albon said that he wasn't interested in a demotion to Red Bull's sister team AlphaTauri.
Albon, 24, is ninth in the season standings and has made it to just one podium, that being at the Tuscany Grand Prix. Last time out, he has a solid seventh-place finish in Turkey, which was his best finish since the Tuscany race at Imola, Italy five races earlier.
"It was a good weekend on my side," Albon said. "It was a step forward in terms of pace. There's still three races to show what I've got, and that's what I want.
"The focus is these three races. There's not really any other thought to it. Most people have a Plan B, but my plan is Plan A and that's staying with the team. That's my goal. Just focus on the last three races."
OK, you're Helmut Marko at Red Bull. Who do you want to be Max Verstappen's teammate in 2021. Is there any reason NOT to take Sergio Perez. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
