Pérez's sponsor on Red Bull exit: 'Too many issues involved'
F1 News
Jimmy Morales has spoken out about the way Red Bull Racing dealt with Sergio Pérez and his Formula 1 exit. The former driver states that Pérez no longer felt comfortable at Red Bull, revealing that there were flare-ups with Helmut Marko back in Formula 3.
Pérez was forced to leave Formula 1 at the end of 2024 after a tough season at Red Bull. Morales, an old acquaintance of Pérez, argues that there was plenty of interest in Pérez from other teams, but that Red Bull's late announcement meant there were no options left. "They had already signed other drivers by then," he said in the Formula de 2 podcast.
The managing director of Escuderia Telmex Telcel, the company that has been Pérez's sponsor for many years, also confirmed that the Mexican no longer felt comfortable with the team. "There are many interests at play. Whether it's fair or not, the internal pressure and Red Bull's advice... There are too many issues involved. Our driver didn't feel comfortable anymore."
One of such issues was linked to the team's advisor, "We already know Helmut Marko. He already had strong clashes with me when we were just in Formula 3. He said to me: 'This driver is not going to make it' And guess what? He even made it to the team that said he wasn't going to make it. We gagged him like the big boys," Morales confirmed.
Return to Formula 1?
Although Morales stressed that Pérez no longer needs to race for financial reasons, he did not rule out Pérez possibly returning to Formula 1 one day. "Checo does not need to return to racing, he has already done everything he should have done in his career. But if he does it, it will be because he wants to. He is very competitive, we just need to find a project that interests him and where he can return and shine."
This article has been created in collaboration with Kim Hoefnagel
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