Sergio Perez has stated he will leave Formula 1 after 2021 if he doesn’t see a path to fighting at the front.
The Mexican is one of several drivers whose careers have been mired in the midfield as big moves have either not happened or not gone to plan.
In Perez’s case, he has been at Racing Point, formerly Force India, ever since a short-lived stay at McLaren in 2013, and now both driver and team are looking to the new 2021 regulations to reinvigorate competition in F1.
“You never know what can happen in Formula 1, I certainly know I will not stay here for many more years – certainly less than what I’ve done in Formula 1 already. I’ve been here a while,” he told Racer.
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“So you never know, but I say to myself that if by 2021 I’m not in contention for podiums and I don’t see it that I’m going to have that opportunity, then I will not be here beyond that.”
Perez has already scored eight podiums in his career, often through capitalising on his ability to look after the tyres in Pirelli’s high-degradation era.
This season, however, has been one of helping Racing Point through a rebuilding phase after their takeover last summer by Lawrence Stroll and the arrival of his son Lance.
Speaking about the Canadian, ‘Checo’ admits he has been surprised by how strong his pace has been in the races, even if in qualifying it is often a different story.
“I think since he came I’ve been surprised with his race rhythm, that’s something that caught me out,” Perez claimed.
“I seemed to have a bit more of an advantage historically to my previous team-mates, especially on race pace, and with Lance, the first time, he was up there.
“I think his race pace is quite good. He’s improving. I think the driver he is today to where he was when he arrived, he has improved massively, so there is a lot to come from him.
“I think he has performed quite well. He is a racer, like me, on Sundays, so he’s done a pretty good job considering the car we’ve had all the way to now.”