Sergio Perez hopes Red Bull F1 contract talks “don’t last too long”

Sergio Perez hopes that the talks about a new Red Bull Formula 1 contract “will not take too long” and that the negotiations will go “very smoothly” after a strong start to the cooperation.

Perez joined Red Bull on a first one-year contract for the 2021 season after being drafted as a replacement for Alexander Albon.

Perez was scheduled to run for Aston Martin this year before the team triggered a release clause in their contract to sign Sebastian Vettel after a lengthy saga that saw Perez regularly asked questions about his future.

The Mexican driver was eventually brought on board by Red Bull as a partner of Max Verstappen and rewarded Red Bull’s trust with winning the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and a podium finish in France. Championship.

The way in which Perez settled at Red Bull after Albon and Pierre Gasly battled alongside Verstappen has already led to suggestions that he will stay beyond the end of the year.

Perez felt that with the busy schedule now, it was not the time to talk about a new contract, but said the talks would come by themselves and he hoped they wouldn’t last long.

“Right now we’re so busy with the races, three in a row, but there will be some downtime to talk about,” said Perez. “Hopefully [it doesn’t] takes too long because I haven’t had a good experience with it when it takes you that long.

“But I see it as a natural thing. Once you feel comfortable on a team, with them and the team working with you, it should of course go very smoothly.

“We should just take it out of the season and focus on the right things.”

Perez played a pivotal role in Verstappen’s win at the French Grand Prix last Sunday and kept Mercedes from splitting up their strategies to cover for the Dutchman.

Verstappen got along well throughout the entire collaboration with Perez and would be delighted if he continued at Red Bull.

“Everything is going very well,” said Verstappen. “Of course I knew Checo before, but not as a team-mate. It’s always a little different, of course.

“So far it’s been great to be able to work together up front to get the best results for the team, that’s what you want. In any case, I want it to continue like this. He’s a great teammate and we can have a lot of fun. “

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After seven races this year, Perez is third in the F1 drivers’ championship with 84 points. For comparison: Albon scored 105 points over the entire 17-round season in 2020.

Verstappen felt that Red Bull’s more competitive car was also a key factor in the improved performances and greater threat to Mercedes this year, but emphasized the importance of having two drivers at the front.

“In the past we didn’t have the car to fight them either, so you could do what you wanted,” said Verstappen. “You could make three stops or pull on the rear tires at the front – nothing will change.

“Now we have the car to really fight against them, then of course it’s super important to be up there with two cars, and that’s exactly what we’ve done in Baku and Paul Ricard.

“It will also be crucial for the builders to keep this up until the end of the year.”