Defiant Sergio Pérez declares ‘you will see me next year’ ahead of F1 São Paulo Grand Prix

Weeks ago, Sergio Pérez brushed aside rumors of a shocking retirement announcement at the Mexico City Grand Prix, his home race, by posting a clip from The Wolf of Wall Street with a simple message. He was not ... leaving.

Pérez continues to brush aside such rumors.

In the wake of a difficult home race in Mexico City, the Red Bull driver is facing continued questions about his status not just with Red Bull, but in Formula 1 itself. Asked Thursday whether this weekend’s São Paulo Grand Prix might have a sense of “finality” to it, Pérez dismissed the notion when speaking with the official F1 channel.

“No, not at all. It’s just rumors, at the end of the day,” said Pérez. “You will see me in Vegas, you will see me next year. I’m not the one that worries about it.”

Pérez was then pushed on the matter with his attention drawn to recent comments from Red Bull’s Dr. Helmut Marko, who indicated that Pérez’s status with Red Bull for 2025 was an “open” discussion. The driver brushed that notion aside as well.

“Well I know I am [going to be with Red Bull in 2025]. That’s all I can say,” declared the driver.

Turning his attention to this weekend’s São Paulo Grand Prix, Pérez noted that Red Bull may face an uphill climb when it comes to fighting McLaren and Ferrari at the sharp end of the grid.

“We understood a lot of the issues we had in Mexico, on my side when you look at my first ten laps of Mexico they were looking good and competitive,” said Pérez. “But we definitely have to find [something] – when you look at the pace from McLaren and Ferrari, they seem to be in another level in the last two races.

“I really hope that we can be in the mix here. We understood a few of the issues, but it’s just not very clear how we’re going to solve them. It’s a different track, the altitude probably had a bigger impact on us [in Mexico], so we’ll see.

“I think tomorrow we will have a pretty good idea on where we are.”