Helmut Marko tips Sergio Perez for F1 return in ‘new opportunities’ claim

Michelle Foster
Sergio Perez and Helmut Marko

Could Sergio Perez return to the F1 grid in 2026?

Helmut Marko doesn’t believe Formula 1 has seen the end of Sergio Perez despite the Mexican driver parting ways with Red Bull in December.

After months of speculation and defiant statements that he was not going anywhere, Perez and Red Bull announced they’d reached an agreement to part ways with immediate effect.

Sergio Perez ‘still holds aspirations’ for F1

Early last year Perez signed a new two-year deal to race for Red Bull until 2026, but even the new contract wasn’t enough to bolster his form as Perez’s results slumped.

With only four podiums the entire 24-race season, all of which he netted in the first five races, Perez limped home with 152 points having managed just nine points in his final eight Grands Prix.

Perez was 285 points behind his championship-winning team-mate Max Verstappen, the disparity costing Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship where they slumped to third.

But while he said he was not going anywhere, a stance he maintained until the final race of the championship, he admitted in Abu Dhabi that his future was uncertain. Two weeks later, Perez and Red Bull confirmed his exit with Liam Lawson replacing the Mexican driver.

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However, he may not be out of the sport for long according to his former motorsport advisor Marko.

“I think he still holds aspirations for Formula 1, although all the seats for next year are taken,” the 81-year-old said as per the Spanish edition of Motorsport.com. “However, if he sits out a year, as an experienced driver, new opportunities could always arise.”

Red Bull reportedly paid Perez millions to walk away, although the exact number has not been confirmed by either the former driver or the team.

Marko though, did reveal that it was an “acceptable outcome for both sides when you consider the contracts”.

“At first, he didn’t believe it. He kept hoping to rediscover his best form repeatedly,” he added.

“He won five races with us and finished as runner-up in the World Championship, but it just didn’t work out. He eventually understood he couldn’t come back from this and that parting ways was the best option.”

Perez broke his silence over his Red Bull exit earlier this month, telling ESPN Deportes that he intends to take “six months” before he decides “what I want for the next step in my career.

“It’s too early to give an answer as to whether I intend to return to Formula 1. Everything happened very quickly at the end of last season, I didn’t expect to leave the team.”

According to his father, Antonio Perez Garibay, he could make a switch to Formula E although when he didn’t say.

He told Marca: “Formula E is a category that has been going for 11 years and is still rising. Now it is the second best category and in five years it will be the main one.

“Watch out, we might see Checo Perez racing here. That wouldn’t be a problem.”

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