Can Perez forget it? "It's just not the Red Bull way"

Max Chilton doesn't rate Sergio Perez's chances at Red Bull Racing very highly. The 29-year-old former Formula 1 driver suspects that Alexander Albon may stay on, which could bring Perez to the IndyCar. However, the Mexican should not wait too long, because then all the seats will be filled there as well.

"The sad thing is what's going to happen to Perez," Chilton says in conversation with GQ magazine. Perez, who came second on the Istanbul Park circuit in Turkey, must fear that there will be no place for him in Formula 1 in 2021. “He is a fantastic driver, but I cannot see him staying in F1."

Chilton expects Albon to stay on

The only option left for Perez is Alexander Albon's seat at Red Bull. After the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Helmut Marko will decide who can sit next to Max Verstappen next year. Chilton just doesn't expect it to be Perez. "The place that would make most sense would be replacing Alex Albon at Red Bull, but it's just not the Red Bull way – they like to promote their development drivers, so I just can’t see it happening," he added. 

If Perez misses out, he seems to have two options. Either he takes a sabbatical and hopes that in 2020 there will be a place in Formula 1 again, or he makes the switch to the IndyCar and thus definitively closes the book of the pinnacle of motorsport. "There are stories doing the rounds that him, Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen may well end up racing in Indycar, which would be fantastic."

Perez shouldn't wait too long

If the Racing Point driver is really interested in this, he shouldn't wait too long, according to Chilton. "They better be quick, however, as a lot of the seats are taken, certainly the ones in the quickest cars, which I imagine they would want so they can show off how good they are," concludes the Carlin driver in IndyCar.