Racing Point boss Otmar Szafnauer says Sergio Perez was “kept aware” 💛of its talks with Sebastian Vettel about driving for the team during the 2021 Form🥃ula 1 season.

Per♔ez will be replaced by four-time world champion Vettel when the team rebrands to Aston Martin next seaso🅘n, a decision which was made final on Wednesday.

The Mexican announced his exit from Racing Point on Wednesday evening after receiving a call from team owner Lawrence Stroll, before Vettel’s impending arrival was coꦏnfirmed on Thursday ahead of this weekend’s Tuscan Grand Prix.

Responding to Perez’s claim that he had been 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:told nothing before Wednesday, Szafnauer told Sky Sports F1: “He did have an inkling and he did know, we kept his manager Julien [Jaꦗkobi] informed of the process all the w♔ay through.

“But like I said, it wasn’t a clear decision and𓂃 that’s credit to 🌃him because he did such a great job for us. He was kept aware of what was going on.

“Wh♏at he didn’t know, because the decision wasn’t made, what the definitive action was going to be. That’s what he learned on Wednesday.”

SEE ALSO: What next for Sergio Perez after Racing Point exit?

Szafnauer revealed that Racing Point had been in talks with Vettel about a possible driver for “quite some time” following his confirmed departure from Ferrari which was anno🃏unced in May🐬.

“We’ve been talking to him for quite some time, the decision was made two days 🅷ago, really, the final decision,”✱ he explained.

“It wasn’t easy, Sergio served us well, he’s a great racer, he’s 🐻a quick driver෴, he’s a safe pair of hands on a Sunday, especially as he doesn’t make many mistakes and bring the points in.

“It wasn’t that easy and that’s a compl🌃iment to S꧂ergio, for us to deliberate for so long, whether to take a four-time world champion with all the experience Sebastian brings or stay with Sergio.

“Ultimately, with Aston Martin coming in, it’s൲ the right decision to get the experience that Sebastian brings with him, the experience of a top team, that’s where Aston Martin aspires to be. I think we did 🍃the right thing.

“I think he’ll bring with🅰 him a world champion’s w𒁃ork ethic,” Szafnauer added. “That’s what we all want to learn from and everyone is going to have to raise their game.

“He’ll be a great mentor for𓆏 Lance too, who’s quite young and fast. Isn’t it great for someone who has just come into the sport to learn from a four-time world champion?”