The 2024 Method 1 season noticed Purple Bull slip from the highest of the Constructors’ Championship standings as McLaren claimed prime honors, denying Purple Bull a 3rd consecutive title.
Now one in all their former drivers is opening up on the place issues went flawed.
Sergio Pérez, who was let go by the crew following the 2024 marketing campaign, pointed to the departures of two members of Purple Bull’s management crew: former Chief Know-how Officer Adrian Newey and former Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley. Talking on the Desde el Paddock podcast, the previous Purple Bull driver talked about these two key figures, and their departures, as causes for the crew’s latest struggles.
“When Adrian Newey left, I feel that’s when much more issues began,” began Pérez. “Then Jonathan Wheatley left, who was a basic a part of the crew.”
Pérez additionally addressed his personal departure from Purple Bull. Regardless of signing a brand new contract final season, he was let go from the crew following a dismal end to the 2024 marketing campaign. After ending on the rostrum in 5 of the primary six races, Pérez didn’t place within the prime three the remainder of the season and managed simply 9 factors over the ultimate eight races.
The driving force believes there are some regrets at Purple Bull after letting him go, as each Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda have additionally struggled with the senior crew. Lawson was demoted after simply two races at Purple Bull, and Tsunoda has scored simply seven factors over his eight races with the crew.
“Deep down, they’re very sorry [for letting him go] and I do know this from an excellent supply,” started Pérez.
“In the long run, that’s how the game is. Choices had been made as a result of there was an excessive amount of strain that they themselves ended up creating,” continued Pérez.
“I had a signed contract in Monaco, however from the subsequent race onwards, everybody was speaking about my future despite the fact that I already had a signed contract.
“It could have been simple for the crew to guard me and say, ‘You understand what? We have now a driver signed for the subsequent two years’. However that wasn’t the case. From then on, nobody talked about something apart from Purple Bull race after race,” added the previous Purple Bull driver.
“In the long run, there was a variety of strain on my aspect of the storage … it was placing a variety of strain on the engineers, on everybody concerned, and I feel in the long run that ended up costing us quite a bit.”
Nonetheless, Pérez has his eyes on a return to the grid, and he has been incessantly linked with the incoming Cadillac F1 crew. Hypothesis over these two new seats has adopted a number of drivers this yr, together with Pérez and present Mercedes reserve Valtteri Bottas, who teased a possible transfer to Cadillac earlier this week.
Pérez indicated on Desde el Paddock that he would return to F1 offered it’s “price paying the worth.”
“Sure, I do, if the precise mission comes alongside that I really feel is the place I needs to be. I wish to return as a result of I don’t wish to finish my profession like this,” he stated.
“I’ll return if it’s price paying the worth to be in F1.”
You’ll be able to hearken to the complete interview with Pérez right here.
