Sergio Perez claims that being dropped by Pink Bull on the finish of final season turned out to be a very good factor.
Beneath intense stress to boost his sport, at a time the Mexican ought to have been digging deep and enhancing he really appeared to worsen, and consequently when he was dropped at season finish – regardless of having a contract for this yr – it got here as no massive shock.
Since then, aside from being recruited by Cadillac because it enters the game in 2026, the Mexican can have derived some satisfaction from the truth that his replacements at Pink Bull have fared no higher than he did, certainly, arguably worse.
One needed to really feel for the Mexican because it appeared his profession was over, and speaking to the official F1 web site, whereas admitting that being dropped hit him arduous it turned out to be a very good factor.
“I did not really feel on the time,” he says, admitting that he wanted a break from the game. “If you end up within the sport, you might be carried away with the truth that you might be all the time eager about your subsequent yr, your subsequent race, your subsequent contract. It is like you might be in computerized mode. However as soon as you might be compelled to step out of it like I used to be, you realise lots of issues and also you see the game completely different.
“At first, the primary couple of months had been nice,” he says. “I realised that I missed F1 as a result of I saved following it. I saved waking up for the races. I may see what was taking place – I used to be speaking to buddies that had been within the paddock, and I realised that most likely I missed it greater than I assumed.
“After which when the dialog began with Cadillac and we may see that zeal for racing, then, yeah, I felt like I nonetheless have one thing left in me.
“Now that I look again, it was like a dream situation, having the ability to take a yr out after which get that refreshment. After 15 years or so in System 1 to get that refreshment after which have all of the power once more for what I see as my remaining stint within the sport. I’ve all of the power now to get again to it, to work with the workforce, to push the workforce forwards in all areas, on the simulator. It is a new workforce so we’re beginning principally from zero.”
Coming off the again of a two-day take a look at at Imola in a 2023 Ferrari, as a lot as he relishes the problem with Cadillac he admits that that is nearly definitely the ultimate part of his F1 profession.
“It’s important to keep in mind that my final six months at Pink Bull had been very tough for myself in all areas,” he says. “I began to have a little bit of demotivation with the game and I can’t let that occur as a result of it is a sport that gave me the whole lot.
“The day that I depart the game, I wish to depart it with an enormous smile and lots of respect as a result of the game has given me the whole lot. I see this as my predominant, massive, remaining mission within the sport and I wish to make it possible for I make it a profitable comeback.”
