Perez leaves Racing Point frustrated: "Sad leaving the team this way"

A week after winning his first Formula 1 race, Sergio Perez experienced opposite emotions in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Early in the race, Perez was forced to retire after a transmission problem. Perez is leaving Racing Point and is yet to have a confirmed seat on the grid.

"It's a bit sad leaving the team this way. Some of my boys were crying and I told them we just have to remember what happened last weekend and this season," Perez told Sky Sports.

Despite having a 10 point lead going into the final weekend, Racing Point didn't secure third-place in the Constructors' Championship. Perez's retirement put the Pink Panthers on the back foot and McLaren finished well in P5 and P6. Perez still says the result is good for Racing Point.

"We still managed to finish in P4 and I missed two races due to COVID. We had some reliability issues this year and we just missed out on P3 but McLaren delivered with the car they had," he added.