MEXICO CITY — Sergio Perez basked in the admiration of the home fans as his son watched with his arms crossed on the right side of the podium at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez.
Despite Red Bull's Max Verstappen winning the race, Perez, who finished third, took his first podium at the Mexican Grand Prix, attracting the attention of the spectators. This was his fifth podium of the 2021 season, but the first time a Mexican driver has achieved such a result in his home country, making it an important result for both him and his country.
Three years later, things have changed dramatically.
Perez remains a star in Mexico. this remains his His face will be plastered on billboards across the city over the weekend as brands and sponsors look to capitalize on his stardom. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner joked that Perez would be “endorsing everything from Uber Eats to toilet paper this weekend”.
But now, another podium finish will carry even more weight for Perez due to his poor form that has seen him slump to eighth place at the world championships.
“I know we've had a terrible season, a very difficult season,” Perez admitted on Thursday. “It started very well, but it was really, really difficult. If I can get a good result, it can definitely make a big difference in my season in terms of (my) personal feelings.”
Perez arrived in Mexico without a podium finish since April's Chinese Grand Prix. A season that started with high hopes as Red Bull looked one step ahead of its rivals quickly fell apart as he struggled with the car. The lack of balance that sank drivers' confidence this year only came back to bite Max Verstappen at the end of the European season. It hurt Perez a long time ago.
The resulting deterioration in form has brought attention to Perez's future. Red Bull saw their advantage at the start of the year fade as McLaren, aided by two high-scoring drivers in Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, reeled off that advantage and ultimately climbed to the top of the constructors' championship. did. Verstappen maintains a decent place at the top of the drivers' standings, but Red Bull are now in danger of slipping back to third place, just eight points behind Ferrari. This is the team's lowest constructors' finish since 2019.
Ahead of Mexico, Perez felt the need to respond to rumors that he might announce plans to retire from F1 altogether at his home race. During his three-week break after Singapore, he posted a video clip from The Wolf of Wall Street in which Jordan Belfort, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, confidently tells his employees, “I'm not quitting.”
Sorry 😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/rPIHpYDVGH
— Sergio Perez (@SChecoPerez) September 29, 2024
Asked about the post in Austin last week, Perez explained, “For the last couple of years, it feels like every year someone starts this rumor and everyone picks up on it.” “Dear fans, of course I know that a lot of people came to support me at the Mexican Grand Prix, but maybe they have expectations that are not true.
“I just felt it necessary to say that I don't think it's right to spread rumors like this without knowing the facts.”
These rumors have been occurring frequently because of the intense scrutiny that has been placed on Perez's poor performance and future, even though he is under contract for the next two seasons. His updates were intended to give him stability at a time when his form was failing, acting as an extra arm around his shoulders and evidence that he had the support of the team.
The desired effect was not achieved. Perez has yet to finish inside the top five since the deal was announced just before the Canadian Grand Prix. He was fighting for a podium place in Azerbaijan last month, only for a late collision with Carlos Sainz to end the race.
On Friday, Horner agreed with Perez's assessment that his season had been “terrible”, saying the Mexican “summed it up perfectly”.
“This has been a bad year for the Czech Republic,” Horner said. “He started well but obviously struggled to get into shape after Imola. It was sporadic. We saw moments of performance. In Azerbaijan for probably almost a month He could have won that race before.
“We know what he's capable of. We'll give him confidence in the set-up and the car and hope he can extract the performance we know he's capable of.”
Verstappen's deepening distress throughout the summer races showed that Perez was not solely responsible for his decline in form. The upgrades that arrived in Austin helped alleviate some of Verstappen's concerns, but Perez, who qualified ninth but only finished seventh, didn't have the complete package. “I didn't have a good weekend,” he said of Mexico. “It wasn't a good weekend that gave me confidence.”
Confidence is something Red Bull have long sought to re-instill in Perez ahead of 2025. “Czeco is our driver,” Horner said. “He's contracted until 2025. He's competitive. He's hungry. He's not happy with where he is right now. So as a team we're going to support him. I am doing my best.”
Horner is open to questions about how Liam Lawson's performance at RB could impact the Red Bull duo's plans, considering he could replace Perez in the event of a move at Red Bull. I was asked if there was one. Horner reiterated that Perez “has a contract for next year, so he is now a 2025 driver.”
“There are empty seats at RB and they are all Red Bull Racing drivers on loan,” Horner said. “I have had time to talk to Laurent (Mekeith) and Peter (Beyer) and consider all options.''
Of the five races left, if there's one race where the event and crowd energy will give Perez more energy, it's Mexico. The intensity of the weekend's races is unlike anything he has experienced in F1. He described it as “like three races happening at once.” The noise heard from the grandstands on his first out lap at the start of FP1 was louder than most drivers hear to their credit all season. It was the excitement of more than 100,000 Mexicans packed into the circuit, most of them brightly colored, and the noise of the Forosol stadium section.
Racing at home is demanding so it's a tough week. But that doesn't change how special this Grand Prix is to him. “I just want to have fun,” he said in Austin. “This is my ninth Grand Prix in Mexico. It's a very important Grand Prix, so I want to enjoy it all.”
The only noise Perez wants to hear this weekend is from the grandstands. The constant speculation and debate about his future? he doesn't care. “I have to keep my head down and focus on what I can control,” Perez said. “The rest is something you can't worry about.”
Ending a podium drought in his home country would be the perfect way for Perez to erase some of the question marks over his future at Red Bull. It will also give him a chance to relive precious moments like the one he had with his son three years ago.
“That moment when my son was on the podium watching me with him will stay with me forever,” Perez said. “That's something I hope he remembers forever. If not, at least we'll have a picture to show him when he's older.
“I think those moments are really important to me, and I hope I can repeat that this weekend.”
Sergio Perez's son remembers seeing his father on the podium at his hometown Grand Prix 💚🇲🇽
(via rsanchezp/IG) pic.twitter.com/tsFzL1JMHu
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) July 12, 2022
Top photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images