Sergio Perez and Red Bull admit the Mexican's win at the Sakhir Grand Prix won't have any bearing on the latter's driver choice for 2021.
Last Sunday, the Racing Point driver set a new record after scoring his first Formula 1 victory on his 190th GP start, a whopping 60 more than the previous holder Mark Webber.
It was a result which also continued Perez's remarkable run of form, only failing to finish in the points once since missing both races at Silverstone back in August.
Despite that, however, Checo is currently without a seat for next year and after Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko declared last Sunday had "no influence" on his decision, Perez echoed the Austrian.
“I am a strong believer in Formula 1 that one race doesn’t really change your life,” he said, ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
“What I have shown in the last 10 years, weekend after weekend, year by year, always having ups and downs but always coming to a year-end with strong results.
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“This year especially you’ve seen that my year has been very up and down.
“Missing two races with the COVID in such a short championship, an engine failure when we had a podium in our pocket.
“So many missed opportunities and still we’re lying fourth in the Drivers’ Championship.”
Perez confirmed Marko was one of many F1 team bosses to personally congratulate him on his win in Bahrain.
But as for any news on his future...
“They will make the decision at some point after the weekend so I don’t know when that decision will be. There’s not a lot of hurry anymore. It’s the end of the year and it’s where we are," he claimed.
“We waited so long that now it’s one week or two weeks more to know a decision. It doesn’t change that much.”
Should Red Bull's decision be no, as is still expected, Perez maintains he has no issue with a year at least off the F1 grid.
“All I can say is that I am in big peace with myself,” he declared.
“I am not fully in control of my future at the moment. It’s something that bothers you obviously, I think any human in this position will struggle a bit.
"But given that it is not in my hands, given that the victory came, it took a long time though but it came. I felt I made the most of my opportunities.
“If I have a seat for next year it’s great but if not, I am willing to come back in ‘22," Perez insisted. "I believe that I am at the peak of my career and the best years are ahead of me
"Even missing a year, next year, I am determined enough to come back for ‘22. If I have to take a year out, I will do it but I am more determined than ever to come back.
"The victory gave me some peace but also a lot more hunger, I want more in the sport. After you do the first one, you know you can do it again so I want to do it many more times again.”
