Birthday boy Sergio Perez hopes to deliver Honda swansong championship

Red Bull

Birthday boy Perez hopes to deliver Honda swansong championship

Honda will withdraw from Formula 1 at the end of the season

Ewan Gale

Tuesday 26 January 2021 13:45

Sergio Perez is hoping he can help Red Bull deliver Honda a championship title from its last season as an official engine manufacturer in the sport.

Honda announced last year it is to pull out of Formula 1 at the end of this season to refocus its resources towards meeting the company's carbon-neutrality goals.

Perez, celebrating his 31st birthday on Tuesday, has vowed to give his all to help Red Bull and the Japanese manufacturer claim the championship.

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"I'm so much looking forward to working with them [Honda]," said the Mexican. "I'm aware of the amount of pushing they are doing for this final season.

"We definitely want all of the Red Bull family to leave you on top and hopefully, we can give you that championship. We will be giving everything for it. Let's work and have a great season together."

Perez has joined Red Bull on the back of securing fourth in the drivers' championship in his final season with Racing Point, collecting his first victory in the sport to boot.

Whilst conceding the win at the penultimate race in 2020 may have played a part in the decision to hire him, the Mexican suggested his racing record across his 10-year stay in the sport provided more of a basis for the Red Bull hierarchy to secure his services.

"I think definitely, [the win] gave a bit of an influence," he explained. "But I think, I have been in the sport 10 years and people, now, they know what I can do.

"It is obviously a new challenge, a new opportunity so it is a moment for me to prove it to myself that I can take the next step. Now, I seem to have the machinery in my hands so I have to make sure I make it work.

"I think [the win] certainly helped but more, the consistency I have shown through the years. Last year, I had a better package so I was able to show it more.

"It is hardly that only one race in Formula 1 changes your life. One race is very hard but it certainly helps."