F1 star says four-time world champion's team move forced him to leave

F1 star Sergio Perez has opened up on a four-time F1 champion's move which forced him to look for another team.

Perez is currently at Cadillac, where he has had to get used to running right at the back of the pack with the outfit the newest of all the 11 teams currently in F1. But it hasn't always been that way for the 36-year-old Mexican.

'Checo' is a six-time grand prix victor, claiming five of those in a spell at Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen, and one at Silverstone-based outfit Racing Point.

Perez was at that team between 2014-2020, and oversaw their transition from Force India to Racing Point.

But just as the Silverstone-based outfit were about to enter another new era as Aston Martin, it became clear that Perez was surplus to requirements, with Lance Stroll set to keep his seat as the owner's son, and Aston Martin going after a star signing for their new era.

Aston Martin wanted four-time F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel to race alongside Stroll, after Vettel had been told by Ferrari that 2020 would be his final season with the team.

Perez ultimately had to look for another team, and he joined Red Bull ahead of the 2021 season, just in time for them to begin dominating the sport. He helped Red Bull claim two back-to-back constructors' championship titles in 2022 and 2023, but he has now said that he still looks back on his departure from the Silverstone outfit with sadness.

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Perez replaced by Vettel

"It was difficult because I had a three-year contract with the team, obviously with options in it, and it was like my future was going to be with that team that I've been pretty much with my whole life," Perez revealed on the High Performance podcast.

"I helped to buy it and so on. So I really thought that I was going to be part of that project together with Lawrence and Lance, but then obviously Sebastian came available.

"A four-time world champion became available, and I understood this is how the sport works. I knew that it was going to be a great interest for Lawrence, so he had an option. He didn't renew it, and then he went for Sebastian.

"I was like, 'Look, there is no loyalty in this sport.' I didn't take it personally. I actually have a great relationship with all the people at Aston.

"So, now I just focus on what I can do, which is perform on track, see what happens. If there is a good opportunity for next year, I'll take it. If not, I sit out for a year and then come back.

"Then I end up winning my race towards the end of the year. And then Red Bull came. I the the only team I thought that I was never going to try for was Red Bull, because they always have their academy drivers."

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