Perez “a bit sad” to bow out of Racing Point with Abu Dhabi F1 retirement

Sergio Perez admits he’s disappointed his final F1 race with Racing Point ended with a retirement in Abu Dhabi.

Perez was running outside of the points having started from the back of the grid after taking a fresh Mercedes power unit for this weekend.

The Mexican came to a halt on Lap 10 meaning his final outing with Racing Point ended prematurely.

Lance Stroll’s inability to score big meant McLaren secured third in the constructors’ championship with Racing Point in fourth.

Speaking after the race, Perez revealed some of his mechanics were crying but he told them to think about their maiden win together last time out in Sakhir instead.

“It’s a bit sad leaving the team this way but I told my boys, some of them were crying, but you just have to remember what happened last weekend, what happened in the entire season,” Perez said. “It wasn’t an easy year for us.”

“We still managed to finish P4 in the drivers’ championship, we missed two races with COVID, reliability issues hit us really hard this season. In the end, it’s a shame that we just missed out on third in the constructors’ championship. Well done to McLaren, they really deserved that, they did a tremendous job with the car that they had. The drivers delivered weekend after weekend, so well done to them.”

Perez was a big force in saving Force India in 2018 having pushed for legal action against then team owner Vijay Mallya. 

Despite his efforts in saving the team, Perez was dropped in favour of Sebastian Vettel for 2021 as the team is rebranded as Aston Martin.

“I am leaving very happy,” Perez added. “I am always will be very proud of my boys. I think saving their jobs at the time was one of the best decisions I’ve taken in my life.

“That team will always be my favourite team in Formula 1 because they gave me all and I gave them back everything so I look forward to seeing them very successful. The future is looking very bright for them so I look forward to seeing them more races.”

The Mexican enjoyed his most successful season in 2020, scoring his maiden victory which led him to finish fourth in the drivers’ championship.

Even though he’s been one of F1’s star performers this season, Perez is still unsure whether he will be called up by Red Bull to partner Max Verstappen in 2021.

“As I’ve said before until they don’t announce a driver line-up, all the teams, I still have a chance and hope,” he concluded. “Who knows what will happen next.”