“There were a lot of times when I thought of quitting”- Sergio Perez reveals his tedious journey before making it big in Formula 1.
Sergio Perez is now among the most highly rated Formula 1 driver in the current paddock, and his availability propelled Red Bull to place their belief in him for 2021.
Things are now much better for Perez than his employment setbacks in 2020, but the Mexican race driver learnt to hustle way early in his career, helping him remain calm for the time to improve his situation itself.
“There were a lot of points when I thought of quitting,” Perez said on the Talking Bull podcast. “I came to Formula BMW in Germany, and they were racing like two races with Formula 1.”
“So I went there and very early on [I knew] that it was very different, it was tranquil. I was living in a tiny village. I left my whole childhood behind, my friends, my family. Culture wise, it’s very different in Germany to Mexico.”
“I found myself in a very different life, all on my own. I often thought ‘F1 is far too far [away], I should just go back home and do more of a normal life’. I thought ‘great; I’m going to race with F1, I’m going to be friends with all the F1 drivers, a great opportunity, lots of fun’.”
Family bolstered his courage.
Despite the constant odds of not making it to the top competition, the thought of his family and doing it for them made him work even harder, and it brought him the fortune.
“But it was the support of my family that kept me there. At that time, it was the determination that kept me there. I think about it now, and it’s hard for me to think, to let your son do that.
“My family and my mum, she supported me a lot, my dad as well, the rest of my family, it was a family project. People thought we were crazy. I think we were.”
