Report: Sergio Perez opens talks with another F1 team
Having emerged as a potential contender for a seat at the future Cadillac F1 team, it has now been suggested that Sergio Perez might be in talks with Alpine about a potential race seat for the coming season.
After months of speculation, Red Bull confirmed after last year's season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that Sergio Perez would leave the Austro-British outfit despite the deal that would have seen the 34-year-old driver race for the team until the end of 2026.
The Guadalajara-born driver joined Red Bull in 2021, and helped his team-mate Max Verstappen win his first championship title that year, playing a pivotal role at the title-deciding 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
However, he has failed to deliver a consistent performance over the last couple of years. Perez has won five races with Red Bull, and finished second in the Drivers' Championship in 2023, but he has endured periods during which he simply struggled for outright pace in qualifying.
After a strong start to the 2024 season, Red Bull had elected to extend his contract by a further two years which would have seen Perez race for the Milton Keynes-based outfit until at least the end of the 2026 F1 season. However, the Mexican struggled for pace after his contract extension and the Austro-British squad elected to terminate his contract.
Perez made his first public appearance since his departure from Red Bull at the Feria de Leon event in the Mexican state of state of Guanajuato. The Mexican reckons that he will now use the next six months to find out what he wants to do in the future.
“In the next six months I will make a decision on what's next for my career. I am totally happy, and I will return to Formula 1 if that is what makes me happiest.”
However, it has emerged last week that the Mexican is in talks with Cadillac, which will debut in Formula 1 in 2026, might be an option for the Mexican driver. The rumors surrounding his potential return to F1 have exploded ahead of last weekend's Miami Grand Prix weekend, but despite the suggestion, Perez did not attend the event.
It has now emerged that the Mexican driver, who competed in Formula 1 from 2011 to 2024 with Sauber, McLaren, Force India, Racing Point, and Red Bull in the last four seasons, might be in talks with another team.
U.K.'s Daily Mirror reported on Friday that Alpine is emerging as a potential option for Formula One driver Sergio Perez for the 2026 season.
The Enstone-based outfit has announced key changes this week as team boss Oliver Oakes left the organisation while Franco Colapinto was brought in to replace Jack Doohan from next weekend's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
