Sergio Perez's marriage to McLaren seems definitely over, as the Mexican criticised the great British team at the tail end of its disappointing 2013 season. Multiple authoritative sources are reporting that the Woking based team has decided to replace Perez after just a single season with its development rookie Kevin Magnussen.
It is unlikely McLaren will make the news official before this weekend's US grand prix, as the Austin circuit is just 250 miles from Mexico, making it Perez's de-facto 'home' race. But Perez this week hinted that bad news is indeed looming when, at a sponsor event near Mexico City, he described 2013 as "the most disappointing season in my career".
EFE news agency also quoted the 23-year-old as saying 2013 was "probably the worst season in history" for McLaren, adding that it was difficult to show his potential "with a car that bad". "I'm very disappointed," he is now quoted by Brazil's Totalrace.
"I think when your goals are much higher than your results, you get disappointed. And that goes for both sides. It's a great team, I have no doubt of it, with a very capable crew, but I think it lacked organisation and a little bit of humility to face the reality," Perez continued. "During the season, being a great team, McLaren took a long time to recognise the reality of where we were, which was scoring points on a good weekend, and not winning races. "The team took time to realise it," he added.
Perez said he doesn't blame McLaren's team principal, Martin Whitmarsh. "I think Martin is a great leader, I have nothing (bad) to say about him. But a team does not depend only on the leader, it depends on many things that were not good enough," said Perez.
So with the news about Perez's departure only now awaiting official confirmation, many have immediately linked the newly-available Mexican with a move to Force India. Perez said: "I have to see what is the best option for the future. Before anything else, I support my country and that is what keeps me going forwards." (GMM)
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