Sergio Perez makes retirement claim as Red Bull ace speaks on F1 schedule concerns

Mercedes: What’s gone wrong at the F1 and can they recover?

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Sergio Perez has revealed that he could soon decide to walk away from Formula One if the powers that be continue to increase the number of races on the Grand Prix calendar. The 32-year-old is only contracted to Red Bull until the end of the current season and looks to be weighing up a future away from the sport as a result of F1’s recent schedule changes.

New events in Miami and Saudi Arabia are among those to have been added by F1 bosses over the last few years, while Las Vegas will also join the Grand Prix calendar in 2023. A number of drivers have already raised concerns about the increased number of races and Perez is unsure over whether he will stay on the grid if any further additions are made over the coming months and years.

“What I’m really optimistic about is the fact it’s growing a lot,” Perez told The Athletic when quizzed on the future of F1. “I can see wherever we go in the world, you feel it on the streets, people recognise you a lot more.

“People are into the sport a lot more, there’s a very big demand. But on the other hand, having too many races is a no-go, at least for me.

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“Right now you’re basically [immersed in] it because we have so many races. We have simulator sessions before each event. We have partner events.

“We basically have zero time for ourselves and for our families. I have a couple of young children [with a third on the way]. I think if the calendar [expands] more, then I definitely will not do it.”

This year’s F1 calendar includes a record-breaking total of 23 races, with the axed Russian Grand Prix set to be replaced by a new event in the not-too-distant future. The current situation has also sparked plenty of speculation that a number of F1’s classic events, such as the annual races in Monaco or Belgium, will be scrapped in order to make way for locations with the ability to generate more money for the sport.

It remains to be seen whether F1’s bosses will eventually curb the schedule’s rapid growth in the near future or continue adding new events in order to fully capitalise on the sport’s recent boom in popularity. F1 chief Stefano Domenicali recently insisted that a 30-race calendar would be a genuine possibility due to the sheer amount of interest in hosting lucrative Grand Prix weekends from promoters across the globe.

“I think there is potential to go to 24 [races],” Domenicali told Sky Sports earlier this year. “I would say there is potential to go to 30 in terms of the interest we see all around the world.

“It is up to us to try to find the right balance considering what are the venues which would like to be in F1, what are the historical values we need to see on the calendar.”

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