Red Bull has signed Mexican racing driver Sergio Pérez Mendoza to race alongside Max Verstappen next year.
The 30-year-old, who won his maiden race at the Sakhir Grand Prix would be replacing British-Thai racing driver Alex Albon, who will stay with the team as a reserve driver.
Red Bull said Perez had signed “initially on a one-year contract”.
“Alex is a valued member of the team and we thought long and hard about this decision,” team boss Christian Horner said.
“Having taken our time to evaluate all the relevant data and performances we have decided that Sergio is the right driver to partner Max for 2021.
“Alex remains an important part of our team as test and reserve driver with a key focus on 2022 development and we would like to thank him for his hard work and contribution.”
Albon apparently had been adjudged not to have performed strongly enough in his 18 months spell with the team to justify continuing in a race seat.
Horner continued saying it had been “impossible to ignore Sergio’s performance in Racing Point, particularly in the second half of the season”.
He also said that Albon was still a potential contender for a race seat in 2022.
For Sergio Perez, it’s first chance in a genuine front-running car in a decade-long Formula 1 career.
Perez said he was “incredibly grateful for the opportunity”.
He added: “The chance to race for a championship contending team is something I have been hoping for since I joined F1 and it will be a proud moment to step onto the grid in Red Bull colours alongside Max.
“You can be sure that I will give next season my full focus. The team has the same winning mentality as me and I know I am here to perform and help the team fight for another title.”
Perez made his F1 debut for Sauber in 2011, taking a second place for the team at the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix.
His performances there earned him a place at McLaren for 2013, but the team was at the start of a competitive decline and he was dropped after one year, partly as a result of a political fight between chairman Ron Dennis and managing director Martin Whitmarsh.
Perez then joined what was then called Force India in 2014 and had stayed there ever since, becoming instrumental in forcing the administration process that ousted former owner Vijay Mallya and allowed Stroll to buy the team.
Perez has scored a podium in six of his nine seasons in F1 despite driving for midfield teams his entire career.
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