It has been fuelled by Tuesday’s confirmation that Daniel Ricciardo will replace Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri from the Hungarian GP.
The Australian now has the opportunity to prove that he has put his McLaren struggles behind him and is worthy of a return to a Red Bull race seat alongside Max Verstappen.
Perez had another difficult Saturday at Silverstone last weekend, finishing only 16th in Q1 and thus missing out on the top 10 for the fifth grand prix in a row.
In Sunday’s race he recovered to sixth place, but his ongoing struggles in qualifying ramped up gossip about his future.
Perez, who is now 99 points behind team-mate Max Verstappen in the world championship standings, is contracted to Red Bull for 2024.
However, as his own experience with Racing Point showed when he was not required for 2021 teams usually have the leeway with which to change their plans.
Asked by Autosport if he was ignoring all the talk, he said: “Yeah, fully. I couldn't care less if I'm honest about that.
“I've been in F1 13 years, and I've seen it all. Not worried about any of that. I'm mainly focused on getting my season on track and making sure I keep enjoying this.”
Source: Autosport