Is Checo Pérez close to returning to F1? Several teams have contacted him to come back

Red Bull replaced the Mexican driver with young Liam Lawson and in two races realized their mistake.

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FILE - Red Bull driver Sergio Perez prior to practice for the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit, Dec. 6, 2024. (Altaf Qadri/AP)

LONDON (AP) — Sergio Pérez stated that he is in talks with Formula One teams to return to the grid a few months after Red Bull terminated his contract two years earlier than planned.

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Winner of six races over 14 years in F1, Checo was replaced at Red Bull this season by 23-year-old New Zealander Liam Lawson, who didn’t perform well and was quickly demoted to Racing Bull after just two races, the second team of the Austrian house, and Japanese Yuki Tsunoda was promoted in his place.

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The Japanese will debut as Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull starting from the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend.

Which teams contacted Checo Pérez?

“Especially last year, I couldn’t show what I am capable of as a driver. Now, suddenly, people realize how difficult it is to drive the car,” Pérez said in an interview with the F1 website.

The 35-year-old Mexican said he had been “contacted by some teams from Abu Dhabi,” referring to his last race in December as teammate of champion Max Verstappen.

“There are some very interesting projects out there,” he expressed. “It’s good to be in this position knowing that people are interested in you as a pilot.”

“People have short memories in F1. People realize that my position was not the easiest in F1. And overall, I have done extremely well,” he added.

Pérez escorted Verstappen in the 2023 drivers’ classification and has a total of 39 podiums in his career.

From his home in Mexico, he said it will take “at least six months” to evaluate his options and decide his next career move.

In addition to Red Bull with Lawson, several teams bet on young and inexperienced drivers this season, such as Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls), Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber), Oliver Bearman (Haas), Jack Doohan (Alpine), but only Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), at just 18 years old, has achieved good results.

Any of those racing teams could be an option for Sergio Pérez, as well as the new team Cadillac F1 (an American team owned by General Motors), which will debut in 2026.

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