Sergio Perez “not bothered” as rumours swirl about Red Bull axing

Sergio Perez insists he is unfazed by the mounting speculation that he is in his final year as a Red Bull driver.

Perez’s contract expires at the end of this year and the queue is lengthening to replace him in F1’s most dominant car.

Daniel Ricciardo and Alex Albon are just two of the drivers that have been linked with replacing Perez alongside Max Verstappen next year.

Perez said about the frenzy of driver movement which is anticipated in the coming months: “Most drivers will be willing to get things done a lot earlier in the year.

“From my side, I am just focusing on having a great year.

“The rest takes care of itself.

“As long as you are performing on track, the rest always comes in place.

“I am not bothered about it. For me, my main target is on track.”

Perez insists he can ignore the rumours to deliver performances which could earn him an extended stay in the Red Bull.

“To be honest, when you’ve been so long in this business, you know how it operates,” he said.

“I’m a lot less bothered by it. I make sure that I’m able to enjoy it, to have fun, and the rest takes care of itself.”

He hasn’t set himself particular milestones to hit, in his ambition to cling onto his Red Bull drive.

“No, the start of the season will be really busy,” Perez said.

“So it’s just focusing on the first races.

“I don’t think that I’m setting timelines for now. I am just focusing on the first five races, to get the most out of them.

“It would take energy out of me. I don’t want distractions.

“I’m in a great team. We will see what the future holds.

“I am fully focused on the start of the season.

“Ideally I will carry on for more years in this team.”

Perez flew into 2023 by winning two of the first four grands prix but his season got worse.

Despite Verstappen’s brilliance and his car’s dominance, Perez struggled and endured nightmare retirements in Japan and Mexico when his future looked bleak.

He put those struggles down to: “We had issues as the car was developing.

“The way we were trying to improve those issues meant we were taking performance out of the car.

“Making it more comfortable but not faster.

“Japan was the lowest point of the season.”

He has improved since then, he insists.

“Understanding the difficult races,” Perez insists he has worked on.

“Why were they so difficult? How we were overcompensating for things, and not necessarily making the car better.

“Focusing on myself. I have a great reference in Max.

“Staying with an open approach through the season.

“Making sure we are on the right pace, good pace, and developing from there.”

Perez has one more year in the Red Bull, at least.

“I feel fresh with the learning of last year,” he said.

“It’s important we learn what went wrong, from our mistakes.

“It’s my fourth year with Red Bull and I expect to be at my best.”

Perez vowed to “maximise every opportunity”, adding: “To get a strong base early on, to carry it on, to develop throughout the season.

“With the changes to the car, it’s about improving, learning. It’s a long season. It’s not about where to start in Bahrain, it’s about where you finish in Abu Dhabi. It’s about progression and that’s my main focus this year.”