13/11/2013
NEWS STORY
As speculation over who will partner Jenson Button at McLaren in 2014, Sergio Perez has stolen the Woking outfit's thunder by confirming that he is leaving the team.
The Mexican, took to Twitter to announce the fact that he will not be with the team next year, admitting that 2013 has been a "learning experience".
Thanking the team and insisting that he will always be a McLaren fan, he gives no clue as to his future plans.
Since Monday there has been intense speculation that the team has already signed Kevin Magnussen, though as yet nothing has been announced.
Reacting to Perez' 'confirmation' of his departure, team boss Martin Whitmarsh said: "First of all, we would like to thank Checo for his kind and gracious statement, and for being a fine team member during the 2013 Formula 1 season.
"There are still two grands prix yet to run this year, and our collective focus is on scoring as many points as we can in those two remaining races," he continued. "Checo has made many friends during his time at McLaren - and, together, as a team, we intend to do our utmost to help him finish his year with us with two good results, especially here in Austin, where he has so many fans. We wish him well for the future, and are sure that he will have many successes ahead of him.
"As regards our driver line-up for next year, no 2014 deal has yet been signed with any driver except Jenson, and we therefore have nothing further to announce at this time. As and when that situation progresses, we will make a further announcement accordingly."