Horner claims Perez chose to take the timeout

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner claims Sergio Perez chose “to take some time out” from Formula 1, despite the driver insisting he intended to continue driving.

Perez repeatedly stated that he was under contract to drive for Red Bull for two more seasons and had no intention of leaving until the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, when he acknowledged that talks were planned over his future. Following the announcement that an agreement had been reached between Perez and Red Bull for him to leave the team with immediate effect, Horner said the departure was prompted by the Mexican.

“It’s been a culmination of things,” Horner told ESPN. “Checo started the season so strongly, four podiums out of five races. It felt like he picked up where he left off last year.

“But then really from Monte Carlo, that race onwards, it’s been a very tough year for him and we’ve tried everything with him and supported him and basically he’s come to his own conclusion that I think ​​that now is the right time to step away from Formula 1 to take a little time out.”

Sources close to Perez deny Horner’s claims, but the Red Bull team principal also states his belief that the 34-year-old may not return to F1, with no race seats available in 2025 outside the Red Bull set-up .

“I think the thing for Checo is to take some time, spend it with his family,” Horner said. “He’s been on the treadmill for a long time now, figuring out if he wants to continue in Formula 1 or maybe look at other categories, maybe sports cars or something like that.

“But I think first of all he needs to take some time and see how much he misses driving a grand prix car and then only he can decide what he wants for the future.”

RACER understands Liam Lawson is in line to replace Perez and Horner told Sky Sports: “We have all the information we need.

“Essentially it will be a choice between Yuki and Liam. Both have strong credentials. We tested Yuki recently at the Abu Dhabi tire test for a chance for him to work with the engineering team. Liam has also been doing some testing with us behind the scenes this year and has run very well in the six or seven races he has had.

“So we have all the information. We’re just looking and considering all that, talking to the engineering team as well and we’ll come to a conclusion over the next few days.”