Sergio Perez looks around the top motor racing series in the world and sees a golden age for Mexican drivers. He is sitting third in the Formula One championship after four races, close behind Red Bull teammate and defending champion Max Verstappen heading into this week’s inaugural Miami Grand Prix.
Pato O’Ward of Mexico just won his first IndyCar race last week and is on the verge of signing a new contract with McLaren. country man Daniel Suárez is in his second season driving for Trackhouse Racing, a team co-owned by Pitbull and built around Suarez.
“I think Mexico is living their best era in (racing) history, with top drivers in each series. It’s great,” Perez said in an interview set up by Red Bull fuel partner Exxon Mobile.
How long that lasts is anyone’s guess. O’Ward turns 23 on Friday, is one of IndyCar’s bright young stars and has F1 aspirations. Suarez, 30, is a former Xfinity Series champion driving in the best cup opportunity of his career.
This golden era of Mexican racing would seem to hinge on Perez and his next steps. The 12-year F1 veteran is 32 and in the final year of his Red Bull contract. A team representative cut off a question about his future with Red Bull and the series in general.
Perez is just the sixth Mexican driver in F1 historyand he’s been the only one on the grid for several years since Esteban Gutierrez Lost his seat with Haas F1 after 2016.
Perez is adored back home and last season became the first Mexican driver to finish on the podium in the Mexican Grand Prix, where he placed third. He enjoys a big fan base at the race in Austin, Texas, and likely will have another one in Miami. Perez is hopeful there will be more Mexican F1 drivers on the way.
O’Ward has expressed a desire to reach F1, and Perez noted that Red Bull signed Mexican driver Noel Len as one of its junior series drivers. “That’s great,” Perez said. “That’s what we need.”
