Sergio Perez says he doubts his maiden victory at Formula 1’s Sakhir Grand Prix will be the defining factor that determines his future in the championship.
Perez’s seven-year stint at Racing Point/Force India will come to a close after this weekend’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
He has already outlined that his only chance of staying on the grid in 2021 is at Red Bull, which is yet to decide the identity of Max Verstappen’s team-mate.
Perez claimed his maiden win in Bahrain on Sunday, after 190 race starts, but does not believe it will swing Red Bull’s decision either way.
“I am a strong believer in Formula 1 that one race doesn’t really change your life,” he said.
“What I have shown in the last years, in the last 10 years, weekend after weekend, year by year, always having up and downs but always coming to a year-end with strong results.
“ This year especially you’ve seen that my year has been very up and down.
“Missing two races with the COVID in such a short championship, missing an engine when we had the podium in the pocket.
“So many missed opportunities and is still we’re lying fourth in the Drivers’ Championship.”
Perez also revealed that he received widespread messages of congratulations after his victory, including from Red Bull’s Helmut Marko.
“I had congratulation messages from pretty much most of the team bosses in F1 including Helmut so it was nice to have that,” he said.
“They will make the decision at some point after the weekend so I don’t know when that decision will be. There’s not a lot of hurry anymore. It’s the end of the year and it’s where we are.
“We waited so long that now it’s one week or two weeks more to know a decision. It doesn’t change that much.”
