Perez - F1 future speculation 'became too much'

Sergio Perez has revealed he had thoughts he was no longer capable of competing in F1 after almost drowning in the speculation over his future this season.

After Perez's form tapered off following an early burst of four podiums in the first five grands prix, and despite signing a contract extension with Red Bull in early June, his poor results have thrust him into an unwanted spotlight.

Perez goes into his home race in Mexico this weekend with his future still a hot topic as he has failed to step back onto the podium in the past 14 races, his worst streak since he joined the team in 2021.

Even team principal Christian Horner recently remarked that the scrutiny the drivers are under on occasion can be "overwhelming”, and that Perez "was struggling with the constant speculation about his job".

Perez has conceded his summer was "very tough", and it has not really got any easier.

"The speculation was more than I expected," Pérez said to The New York Times. "I'd just renewed with the team, so I knew exactly what I had signed in terms of the contract. At the time, I was not concerned about it.

"But it got to a point where it was just too much, where it became very difficult to focus on my stuff, and a lot of judgement was passed on myself, on my career. Everyone seemed to have an opinion on what I was doing right and wrong out of the car, with my life.

"It was affecting everything. Everyone was getting involved in my personal life, and I was thinking too much about my family, and my investments. Everyone you talked to had a different opinion, even inside the team. People were thinking I wasn't focused."

Perez - Not a thought about quitting

It resulted in Perez sitting down with his wife, Carola, to discuss the situation, and what he should do.

"I was thinking it's probably not in me any more, that I cannot drive the car like I used to, that I'm not at the level I once was," Perez said.

"It's hard to explain to people that something is going on inside you. With the car, there were races, like Silverstone in the damp, where I felt I was going to crash at every single corner. It was just not in me, and it's not easy. The summer was super hard."

Naturally, being team-mate to three-time F1 champion Max Verstappen has not helped his cause given the constant comparisons to the Dutchman's performances, and with Red Bull also being constantly under the microscope.

"It's been tough, very demanding," he said. "It's a team that has a lot of attention from the media. Every single weekend your future is in doubt.

"Mentally it's a big challenge, and being team-mate to Max, especially in a car you are not comfortable with, it's a massive task."

Yet Perez is adamant that, even at his lowest ebb, he did not consider throwing in the towel. 

"It went into me but there was not a point where I thought, 'I'm giving up'," he said. "I went through a very difficult period but I never had in my head a thought about quitting. It's not my style.

"It probably would have been the easiest thing to do at the time but that wasn't the case."