Striking reason why Perez's switch to Red Bull in 2010 fell through

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16 March 2021 at 14:30
Last update 16 March 2021 at 17:59
  • GPblog.com

Sergio Perez will race for Red Bull this year but was also very close in 2010 when he was still racing in GP2. That it did not happen was mainly due to the management of Perez.

Speaking to Servus TV, Helmut Marko said Perez had almost become part of the family over 10 years ago: "In 2010 he wasn't even that far from the Red Bull junior team. We were watching him in Estoril and were impressed with his performance even then".

No agreement due to Perez management

Unfortunately for the Mexican, the deal did not happen and Perez ended up in Formula 1 at Sauber. According to Marko, the deal fell through because of Perez's management:"He has a strong Mexican management behind him, they blocked the collaboration. That's the reason why it didn't work out at the time", according to Marko.

The exact reason is not clear but at the time Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were the duo at Red Bull. Possibly the strength of this driver duo influenced the choice of Perez. After all, it was difficult to get a seat of these two at that time. The team won its first championship in 2010.