Perez already had certainty: "I knew then that I would stay at Red Bull"

The pressure is off for Sergio Perez, now that Red Bull Racing has officially announced it wants to continue with him in 2022. However, Max Verstappen's teammate says he was informed of the contract extension before the summer break.

"When we went into the summer break I knew I would stay with the team," Pérez replied to Motorsport.com When asked when he was informed of the news. "But then, of course, everyone went on holiday, so it took a bit longer for everything to be finalised."

However, he only officially signed the contract on Friday. "When everyone was back on Friday I signed, but the agreements were made before," explained the Mexican. "A few races ago Helmut and Christian told me that they were happy to keep me, and that I didn't need to look further.

"They wanted to continue with me, and I with them. So it was clear to both sides that we wanted to continue together," continued the Red Bull driver. "I didn't talk to anyone else, because for me it was clear that I wanted to stay here."