"I would rather retire first than take sabbatical" - Perez

Sergio Perez

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"I would rather retire first than take sabbatical" - Perez

Perez hopes to remain in Formula 1 despite losing his Racing Point seat

Sam Hall

Wednesday 16 September 2020 18:02

Sergio Perez has ruled out the prospect of taking a sabbatical from Formula 1 next season if he is unable to land another drive.

Perez will make way for Sebastian Vettel as Racing Point becomes Aston Martin next season, but with the top drives all taken the Mexican appears to be left with a straight choice between Alfa Romeo and Haas.

Combined, the two teams have registered only five points in 2020, with Antonio Giovinazzi and Kimi Raikkonen both scoring two apiece for ninth-place finishes in Austria and Mugello respectively, while Kevin Magnussen bagged a single point for finishing 10th for Haas in Hungary.

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Perez, however, has registered top-10 finishes in every race he has entered in the current campaign, amassing a total of 44 points.

For the 30-year-old, both are better options than taking a year out, which potentially ruled out the possibility of competing for a year with McLaren in IndyCar as mooted by Zak Brown.

"I think once you go out, you might never come back so if I take a sabbatical...I would rather retire first than take the sabbatical," said Perez.

"I think everything is an option right now. My main target is to remain in F1. I feel that I am still very young and hungry.

"I want to carry on in Formula 1 but it has to be the right package, a package that gives me the maximum motivation to give 100% every single lap."

After embarking on a long-term project with the team when it was originally known as Force India from 2014, Perez is hoping his next move will provide a similar challenge.

Primarily, Perez respects the fact that with the advent of new regulations from 2022, it offers a clean slate in many respects for all the teams.

"I think it is also going to be a long-term project targeting 2022 because I expect the rule changes to play a major effect," added Perez.

"That's the main reason I want to continue to 2022 is that I feel there would be plenty of opportunities. 2021 can be a difficult year in that regard, but you never know.

"There are certainly options out there and I don't expect to make a decision any time soon. I will take the time that I require and if I don't find anything attractive in F1, I will think about other series, other things. We will see."

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