Red Bull’s Pérez sees golden age of Mexican racers

Sergio Pérez looks around the top motor racing series in the world and sees a golden age for Mexican drivers.

He is sitting third in the Formula One championship after four races, close behind Red Bull teammate and defending champion Max Verstappen heading into this week’s inaugural Miami Grand Prix.

Pato O’Ward of Mexico just won his first IndyCar race last week and is on the verge of signing a new contract with McLaren. Countryman Daniel Suárez is in his second season driving for Trackhouse Racing, a team co-owned by Pitbull and built around Suarez.

“I think Mexico is living their best era in (racing) history, with top drivers in each series. Its great,” Pérez said in an interview set up by Red Bull fuel partner Exxon Mobile.

How long that lasts is anyone’s guess. O’Ward turns 23 on Friday, is one of IndyCar’s bright young stars and has F1 aspirations. Suárez, 30, is a former Xfinity Series champion driving in the best Cup opportunity of his career.

This golden era of Mexican racing would seem to hinge on Pérez and his next steps. The 12-year F1 veteran is 32 and in the final year of his Red Bull contract. A team representative cut off a question about his future with Red Bull and the series in general.

Pérez said he’s not using the final year of his contract as motivation to press for a first career championship, which would also be the first for a Mexican driver. He is only five points behind Verstappen and trails leader Charles Leclerc of Ferrari by 32.

“I’ve been in Formula One for 12 years, so I’m very relaxed about it,” Pérez said. “I’m just making sure I enjoy it.”

Pérez is just the sixth Mexican driver in F1 history, and he’s been the only one on the grid for several years since Esteban Gutiérrez lost his seat with Haas F1 after 2016.