Up Next
Sakhir Grand Prix winner Sergio Perez may yet miss out on a place on the 2021 Formula 1 grid.
But he’s been exuding quiet confidence about his chances of being back in the field in 2022.
Red Bull is the Racing Point/Aston Martin reject’s last hope of a drive for next year, and that hope depends on Red Bull giving up on Alex Albon – who it’s doggedly maintained faith in through his fluctuations in form this season.
Perez has made clear that if he doesn’t get that Red Bull drive, he’s not interested in racing in another series and will take a year out.
When he first mooted that prospect, he suggested it might be a toe in the water for retiring from racing if he found he was happy with life outside motorsport.
But by last weekend, Perez sounded like a man certain he’d be racing in 2022 even if next year was looking quiet for him.
“I never know what’s going to happen, if I will have the will to come back after doing that,” said Perez of how he’d been looking at a 2021 year out.
“After today, after the last couple of races, I’m sort of determined to be here, either if it’s next year or the year after.
“I already have some good options for ’22 so my best option is obviously to keep going on next year but if I have to stop, then it’s not a disaster, I can come back in ’22.
“The regulations are going to change so much that in a way, I don’t think it will hurt that much on the driving side to get up to speed.”
But where might those ‘good options’ for 2022 be?
We take a look at the current longer-term driver market picture from the top of the F1 grid to the bottom to consider where Perez could fit in for a post-gap-year comeback if necessary.
MERCEDES
After last weekend, it’s very clear that George Russell is Mercedes’ future and that Valtteri Bottas’s long-term prospects aren’t great.
Assuming Lewis Hamilton completes his new deal as expected, a two-year stay is thought likely. That would make a Hamilton/Russell 2022 line-up near-certain.
Should anything go awry, such as a rival completing a shock swoop for Russell or Hamilton’s new contract falling through (or the champion deciding to retire early), Mercedes does also have Esteban Ocon on its books and with only one more year promised to Renault/Alpine.
And as the dominant team of the last seven years, Mercedes could pretty much snatch anyone it wanted if it had a gap – so superstars like Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc or Daniel Ricciardo would have to be in its sights.
Perez’s chances: Extremely unlikely.
RED BULL
If Perez does slot in here for 2021, he would be excellent back-up to Verstappen and it’s easy to see the relationship continuing for the medium-term – at least until the next Red Bull junior prospect was felt to be absolutely ready for the big team.
But if it doesn’t happen for next year and Red Bull persists with Albon, then either Albon will come good and be its longer-term prospect or it will likely have another junior ready to try out by then, such as Yuki Tsunoda.
Perez’s chances: It’s probably next year or never.
ASTON MARTIN
It might seem unimaginable that Perez could be back at the team that’s just dropped him in 2022.
But after all he’s achieved in its Force India/Racing Point era, Perez is obviously very highly-regarded and his exit is down to wider, off-track factors rather than underperformance.
There has to be a question mark right now over whether Sebastian Vettel will be sufficiently revitalised by a change of scenery to make his Aston switch a success.
Perez’s chances: Stranger things have happened in F1.
McLAREN
Perez and McLaren didn’t work out in 2013 (above), and although the McLaren management line-up is very different now and Perez has progressed hugely, it’s hard to envisage a reunion.
Plus the Lando Norris/Ricciardo pairing that McLaren’s about to get looks like the sort of line-up you wouldn’t let slip away in a hurry.
Perez’s chances: We can’t see this one happening.
ALPINE
If Ocon is called back by Mercedes or what’s currently Renault decides not to keep hold of him (which will surely depend on how he gets on against Fernando Alonso), the rumours have been that Pierre Gasly would be number one target for the team about to become Alpine.
But Perez has had serious talks with Renault before and could be a great asset to a team in its position.
Alonso is signed up for two years and something catastrophic would have to happen for them to part early.
Perez’s chances: Unlikely but not impossible.
FERRARI
Perez got into F1 via Ferrari support but dropped off its driver programme because there was no obvious opportunity for him in Ferrari’s main line-up when McLaren came calling.
The bigger consideration now though is that in Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr Ferrari has got a line-up that – like Norris/Ricciardo at McLaren – it’s likely to be happy with at least through 2022.
Perez’s chances: If he was going to be in a Ferrari, it would’ve happened in the last decade.
ALPHATAURI
There could be movement here for 2022 as though there’s a lot of excitement over Yuki Tsunoda, you can never be totally confident in how a rookie will get on at the top table, plus Gasly’s strong 2021 has put him on other teams’ shopping lists.
But all recent precedent suggests that if AlphaTauri has a driver shortage, Red Bull will look to its own junior programme or find a discarded protege to give another chance to.
That said, the fact Red Bull is seriously considering Perez for its main team in 2021 shows he’s on the firm’s radar.
Perez’s chances: Hard to imagine but not impossible.
ALFA ROMEO
Another team where you might expect changes for 2022. Kimi Raikkonen staying on for next year was perhaps a touch unexpected, so yet another deal extension for a driver who first raced in F1 in 2001 also seems far-fetched.
And Antonio Giovinazzi was tipped to be out of the door for next year before doing enough to convince Alfa and Ferrari to give him further chances. He needs a big 2021, though.
There’s still a queue in the Ferrari junior driver pipeline, though. Robert Shwartzman and Callum Ilott would have to be in contention for Alfa seats if there’s a 2022 vacancy there.
But if the team wants a rookie/experience mix and Raikkonen’s done with F1, Perez – who performed such miracles for Alfa in its Sauber days – would be a very sensible hire. The team would have to show it’s back on an upward trajectory to justify his time, though.
Perez’s chances: Subject to what Ferrari wants to do with its proteges, Alfa is a definite maybe.
HAAS
Haas’s clean slate driver approach for 2021 was done with the long-term in mind and it expects Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin to need time to develop.
That means it’s unlikely to be parting with either quickly, and Ilott and Shwartzman would likely be top of the list if something happened to mean it did.
Perez is also understood to not be interested in this particular seat.
Perez’s chances: Not going to happen.
WILLIAMS
The conversation between Williams’s new owners and Perez’s team this year caused a dramatic driver market kerfuffle that ultimately resulted in no immediate changes.
But given Russell will surely not be spending more than one more year at most at the back of the grid, Williams will have a gap in 2022.
Perez really should be top of its list. Again this could come down to the team’s progress. If the new investment gets Williams back on track, this could be a perfect match. It’s hard to see Perez being tempted by fighting to get out of Q1, though.
Perez’s chances: If the team convinces Perez it’s progressing, this is surely his most likely destination.
