LONDON: Mexican driver Sergio Perez will leave Racing Point at the end of the Formula One season, he and the team announced on Wednesday. The news followed speculation that four times world champion Sebastian Vettel is poised to join the Canadian-owned team, which will take the name of sportscar maker Aston Martin in 2021, from Ferrari.
Ferrari have already announced that the German, who won his titles with Red Bull, is being replaced by Spaniard Carlos Sainz from McLaren next year.
Racing Point did not say anything about Perez’s replacement in a statement confirming the 30-year-old’s departure after seven years with the Silverstone-based team.
Perez, currently the only Latin American driver on the starting grid and with a contract due to run until 2022, said in his own statement on Twitter that everything had a beginning and an end.
“My time with the team will come to an end after this season,” said the Mexican, who missed two races this season after contracting Covid-19.
“It hurts a bit as I bet on the team during very rough times,” added the Mexican, who was instrumental in the team’s survival after it went into administration in 2018 as Force India under the ownership of Vijay Mallya.
“We managed to overcome obstacles and I am very proud of saving the jobs of several of my team mates.”
Perez has made eight podium appearances in his F1 career, five of them with Force India.