Written by Josh Buck (@joshbuckf1)
Yesterday Sergio Perez announced via Twitter that at the end of the 2020 season he will be leaving Racing Point.
Perez made his Formula One debut in 2011 with Sauber which became Alfa Romeo in 2018. He was with Sauber until 2012 before he got a big move to a then struggling McLaren side alongside 2009 World Champion Jenson Button, but failed to make a good enough impression on the Woking based team as he was dropped at the end of the year and was given a lifeline by Force India (now Racing Point) for the 2014 season. Since then he has been the leader of the team for many years.
In 2012 Perez enjoyed his most successful season with three podium finishes. His highest finish in the overall standings came in 2016 and 2017 when he finished an impressive seventh.
With Perez determined to stay in F1 for the foreseeable future his best options for a seat next year include Haas who look likely to shake up their driver line up of Grosjean and Magnussen. The Mexican driver could end up at Alfa Romeo with the chance that 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen will retire at the end of the year despite this the Alfa Romeo seat looks set for F2 driver and son of seven times World Champion Michael Schumacher – Mick Schumacher who is a part of the Ferrari Driver Academy (FDA). Other candidates include other F2 driver Callum Illot also part of the FDA.
Since his F1 debut Perez has achieved eight podiums twice finishing second.
When it was announced earlier in the year that four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel would be leaving Ferrari at the end of the year rumours began swirling throughout the paddock where the German driver would end up for the 2021 season or if he would be on the grid at all.
On the weekend that marks the 1000th race for Ferrari at a track that F1 has never been to before the news is taken away from this historic moment to focus on one of the current Scuderia drivers. Many F1 fans will be delighted that Vettel will be staying in F1 for the next few years at Aston Martin alongside Lance Stroll. Vettel has been a leading figure in Formula One for many years and dominated a lot of the last decade winning four back to back Drivers Championships from 2010–13.