Perez faces prospect of sabbatical for F1 2021 due to late Red Bull decision

Sergio Perez admits he may be forced to take a sabbatical from racing during the 2021 Formula 1 season due to the lateness of Red Bull’s decision.

Perez has been left without a drive for next season after Racing Point opted to replace him with four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel for 2021, leaving the Mexican with limited options to remain on the F1 grid.

Red Bull has emerged as a possible landing spot for Perez if the team decides to replace Alex Albon and opt for a more experienced teammate to partner Max Verstappen, but the Milton Keynes squad is yet to make a final call.

"At the moment we will just have to wait and see,” Perez said as he provided the media with an update about his future ahead of this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix.

“The season is coming soon to an end so as I said before until the teams don’t announce a driver, then everything is an option. Every team that hasn’t announced their line up is an option so we will see.

“Everything is so late now and it looks like I will know whether I continue in Formula 1 or not quite late in the year so I think a sabbatical - it’s an option. We will see what happens in the next couple of weeks.”

Perez stressed that he needs to know about his future plans sooner rather than later, given there are few alternative options.

“We are not that far from the season to end, so definitely I have to know my plans, I need to know what will happen in my side to be able to plan everything,” he added.

“It’s happening now too late, we’re already close to December, so there is not a lot more to be had in that regard.”

Perez confirmed that he did hold talks with Williams but indicated that such a move was never a serious option for 2021.

“I’ve always kept my talks privately,” he explained. “I think it’s the way it always should be. More than that, there’s no real point.

“Nothing happened so I don’t think there’s any point in discussing. There were some talks but nothing more than that.”