Sergio Perez opened up on his role in Racing Point’s purchase by Aston Martin, only to be ultimately dropped by the team in a move that had no ‘loyalty’.
Although the decision ended up being an important step in Perez’s career, as he stepped into a team he never saw himself driving for.
Long before Aston Martin was the team it’s known as today, the Silverstone team was called Force India and owned by Vijay Mallya, the owner of Kingfisher Airlines.
Perez had joined back in 2014. However, in 2018, as Kingfisher Airlines collapsed, as did Mallya’s funding, the team went into administration.
Perez’ role in the transition
Perez led the charge, taking the team into administration to protect those who worked there and protect Force India from a winding-up petition.
It was at this stage that Lawrence Stroll first entered the picture for the team, buying Force India with a consortium and rebranding the team as Racing Point. Perez remained with the team with Lance Stroll as his teammate.
After two years as Racing Point, the team became Aston Martin, with a bright future and significant increase in funding on the horizon. However, to Perez’s surprise, he wasn’t retained with the team, instead being swapped out for Sebastian Vettel.
When asked about the decision, he said on the High Performance Podcast: “It was difficult.”
Beyond helping Stroll buy the team, Perez also had a contract which should have secured his place within Aston Martin. Something he believed was going to be a joint project.
“I had a three-year contract with the team, obviously with options in it, and my future was going to be with that team, that I’ve been with pretty much my whole life, and I helped [Lawrence] to buy it and so on.
“So I really thought that I was going to be part of that project together with Lawrence and Lance.”
Perez wasn’t a fool. He’d been in F1 for nine seasons by the time he was dropped from Racing Point, and he understood that Vettel, with four World Championships, was a more valuable commodity to Lawrence Stroll.
“But then obviously Sebastian came available.” He said, “A four-time world champion became available, and I understood this is how the sport works. I knew that he was going to be a great interest for Lawrence.
“So he had an option. He didn’t renew it, and then he went for Sebastian.”
‘No loyalty’ in F1
Despite believing that F1 comes with no loyalty, it’s not something Perez held against the Silverstone-based team.
“I was like, ‘Look, there is no loyalty in this sport.’ I didn’t take it personally; I actually have a great relationship with all the people in Aston.”
“So I said, ‘Look, now what can I do?’ I just focused on what I could do, which is perform on track, see what happens,” Perez continued.
“If there is a good opportunity for the next year, I’ll take it. If not, I’ll sit out for a year and then come back, because there was some interest. I had a few alternatives, but not for the year after.”
The turning point that Perez identified was when he won the Sakhir Grand Prix towards the end of the season with Racing Point. The victory marked Racing Point’s first, and the first for any iteration of the team since Jordan in 2003.
The feat picked up the attention of Red Bull, a team Perez never imagined driving for.
“And then I ended up winning my race towards the end of the year, and then Red Bull came.
“The only team I thought that I was never going to drive for was Red Bull, because they always have their academy drivers. So I end up driving for Red Bull.”
In his time at Red Bull, Perez took five victories and was instrumental in Max Verstappen’s championship victory in 2021.
He was dropped from Red Bull at the end of 2024, but his success with the team sparked interest from Cadillac. They needed a fast but experienced driver, which allowed him to return ot F1 in 2026.
READ MORE: Otmar Szafnauer: ‘I’m too old to work with human beings who aren’t decent’
Discussion about this post