At the most recent Qatar Grand Prix, as team-mate Max Verstappen won his world title, Perez was wiped out of the sprint race and copped three penalties for track limit breaches on Sunday.
Team boss Christian Horner reckoned he needed to sit Perez down for a ‘back to basics’ chat and supposed Red Bull no longer had a balanced driver pairing like Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren.
In the aftermath of the Qatari event, internet speculation spread that Perez would use his home race, the Mexican GP, at the end of October to announce his retirement from F1.
But Perez - who is contracted to Red Bull for 2024 - has moved to quash those rumours, adding that he was “just laughing” at the chatter and sees an F1 future beyond the expiration of his current deal.
“I'm just laughing at it,” he said. “There's nothing I can do. I am fully focused on my job.
“That really sums up my season. A guy said something about me and then all of a sudden, it becomes true. But I have a contract for next year and I have no reason not to complete that contract.
“I'm going to give my very best to it. I've done a commitment. But more than that, it will not be my final contract in F1.”
Source: Autosport