Antonio Perez believes his son will return to F1 soon (Image: Getty)
’s father, Antonio Perez Garibay, has assured fans that the Mexican racer will return to the F1 grid after being dropped by at the end of the season, promising ‘historic’ things in the near future.
The six-time Constructors’ champions dropped the former Racing Point and man after a dismal 2024 campaign. Perez scored podiums in four of the first five Grands Prix but failed to register another in the 19 events that followed. He ended the year with an eight-race run without a top-nine finish.
After a brief post-season review, and Helmut Marko opted to remove Perez from their driver line-up despite handing him a multi-year extension in early 2024. Liam Lawson was elected to replace him alongside , much to the displeasure of .
Despite that setback, the 34-year-old could be in line for an F1 return. Speaking to about his son’s future, Perez Snr said: “It’s going to be wonderful. He is the Mexican, the best-known Latin American in the world today, above footballers and celebrities.
“Because in those times, the media didn’t touch a [Ayrton] Senna, a [Juan Manuel] Fangio, they would be more famous with so many championships won. The best version of Checo Pérez is yet to come.
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Sergio Perez was dropped by Red Bull after the season finale (Image: Getty)
“Everybody is going to be very happy and very proud. What Checo Pérez did until the past was this. What is coming will be historic, I assure you. Very big things are coming for the Pérez, the only thing I tell you is that we Pérez have not left Formula One.”
He continued: “There is a lot to thank for. The best years of Checo Pérez’s racing career were at . You don’t have to take this as a rivalry; this is the world of motorsport. You have to understand something about this to be clear, Formula One only has 20 seats, we are more than 7 billion people. Everyone is looking for a seat there.”
More F1…
If Perez targets a return to the F1 grid after a year on the sidelines in 2025, then his best bet likely lies with the new Cadillac project. With his Latin-American links and commercial viability, the six-time Grand Prix winner would make a compelling team-mate alongside a homegrown American racer, likely IndyCar phenom Colton Herta.
However, Perez still has obstacles to overcome, and he does not have a clear run at the Cadillac seat. Valtteri Bottas and will both work hard to get their names in the conversation, while will continue to be linked despite telling fans that he is “done” with F1.