Sergio Perez's father, Antonio, has issued a five-word response to his son's chances of returning to Formula 1 as Christian Horner confirms a new role for the Mexican.
This week, Perez's future was finally decided after another turbulent season at Red Bull Racing.
The Mexican struggled throughout the 2024 campaign as he finished in a disappointing eighth place in the driver's standings, a massive 285 points behind teammate Max Verstappen.
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On Wednesday afternoon, it was confirmed that Perez will not be racing for Red Bull in the 2025 season, with Liam Lawson taking over from the 34-year-old.
Despite rumours of Perez being sacked, Red Bull team boss Horner rubbished those reports, telling talkSPORT, as per Planet F1, that Perez will be involved with the team in 2025.
He said: "No, it’s a little different to that. He’s just had a really tough year this year and we sat down last week – we’d obviously been talking about it a little bit beforehand – and decided that it was right for both of us, just to step back, for him to step out of the car, take a bit of time with his family, work out what he wants to do.
"He’s still going to be involved with the team. He will be doing a couple of show runs with us during next year."
Horner continued: "But it was right for him – because it wasn’t enjoyable for him either, getting all this scrutiny and pressure and expectation every weekend."
Could Sergio Perez return to Formula 1 in the future?
Meanwhile, Perez's father, Antonio, has hinted that his son's racing career is far from over.
Speaking to Imagen Television Mexico, Antonio declared that 'the door is not closed' when asked about Perez's F1 career.
He said: "Checo, I'm sure that the door is not closed, if something very good and very big comes in Formula One.
"If I'm not sure, the door has been closed, I have no doubt. I don't think Checo will go to any team like Sauber, Haas, do you understand me? Checo either signed with a big team or did something else, or the door is closed here."