Sergio Perez retirement rumours dismissed as ‘absolutely false’

Sergio Perez’s apparently imminent retirement from F1 has been dismissed out of hand as ‘absolutely false’.

On Thursday, rumours emerged that Sergio Perez may be set to announce his retirement from F1 at the upcoming Mexico City Grand Prix – a move that, on paper at least, wouldn’t seem beyond the realms of possibility.

PlanetF1.com has been in touch with various sources close to Sergio Perez, all of whom have dismissed the story as being patently untrue.

Where did Sergio Perez retirement rumours come from?

In a post on the immensely popular F1 subreddit, a poster described a scenario that he had apparently been privy to, in which a representative from Escuderia Telmex allegedly revealed Perez’s imminent retirement.

In the post, now deleted, the poster said: “A few days ago, several people were testing some race cars at a local track. After the day at the track was over, this guy’s group joined our group and we all went to dinner together before getting back to the hotel.

“I do not know this guy personally and just met him at the track that day but had heard of him before because he’s a well-known figure in racing circles in Mexico. It was also known he was one of the top guys in Escuderia Telmex. Doing a bit of research, he was working as a high-ranking individual for Escudersa Telmex directly linked to international sponsorship deals, AKA, Checo [Sergio] Perez and other motorsports people up until 2022.”

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According to the poster, the representative revealed that, “Red Bull has told Sergio they will not keep him for 2024, breaking the existing contract.

“Apparently this decision was communicated during the week of the Japanese Grand Prix.

“Checo’s team, (managers and main sponsor Escuderia Telmex) immediately started looking around and talking to people but 2 main problems arose here.

“There are no seats available and these past 4-5 months have been extremely damaging to Sergio’s well-earned reputation. Other teams have mentioned to them how he is now on the older side.

“During the off weekend between Japan and Qatar, Sergio and his team came to the conclusion that it was time to end his Formula 1 career. He’s been doing this for a long time and his family keeps growing and growing. The announcement will be made during the Mexican Grand Prix weekend in 3 weeks’ time and that’d be it.

“Of course, the table had questions and comments but this person claimed that was all he knew, that this was all he had been told by someone still inside Escuderia Telmex.”

The poster stressed that he had no inside knowledge of the situation, and is not a person with influence or connections within F1, and was merely repeating what the representative from Telmex had said.

Sergio Perez retirement rumours dismissed

Following the spread of the rumour online, PlanetF1.com reached out to multiple sources close to Sergio Perez, including Escuderia Telmex.

Responses ranged from confusion and bewilderment to outright denial, while a source familiar with the situation categorically said that the allegations are completely false, and is “absolutely not happening.”

In a public post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Perez’s social media and PR representative Luis Alberto Aguirre made his feelings on the topic clear as, with the rumour going viral, he posted a series of laughing emojis.

Of course, while Perez’s retirement may not be imminent at this point, the Mexican driver is facing an uphill task to extend his Red Bull career beyond the end of 2024 when his current contract ends – his inconsistent form has resulted in Red Bull being outscored by McLaren over the last three races, and Perez is now looking over his shoulder at Lewis Hamilton for second place in the Drivers’ Championship.

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