Mexican Sergio Perez announced on Wednesday that he will be leaving the McLaren Formula 1 team at the of the 2013 season.

The story broke on Monday 11 November 2013 that McLaren have decided to replace Perez with rookie Kevin Magnussen for the 2014 season but there was no confirmation from McLaren about any such driver move. But it looks like Perez surprised us all, but mostly McLaren, with his announcement on Twitter that he will be leaving McLaren at the end of the season.

“First of all, I would like to thank McLaren for giving me the opportunity to be with them this season. It has been an honour for me to have been in one of the most competitive teams in the sport and I do not regret even a bit having joined them. I have always given the best of me for the team and still despite this I could not achieve what I aimed for in this historic team” said Perez in his statement.

“I am committed to deliver very good results in these last two races, especially in Austin. I am so much looking forward to see all my people gathered there, feel their energy and show them the best of me. I would like to say to every single one of my fans around the world and in my country that I am eternally grateful to them. They have never let me down, especially in difficult moments like these. I truly appreciate their support, they have never forgotten me.”

“I have met a lot of new people at McLaren this season and I have made many good friends as well. From the top management level to marketing, accounting and engineering departments to the mechanics, the cooks, the catering people and basically everyone in the team, I am eternally grateful to them. It has been a learning experience to me.”

“I would like to wish the team the very best in the future. I will always be a fan of McLaren, in the meanwhile I will be looking at my future to ensure my position in the best possible package to fight for wins,” 

“Thanks to McLaren and all its partners for this season, you can rest assured that I will never give up.” 

McLaren are still to confirm Perez’s exit from the team or Magnussen’s signing.

A tweet from the official McLaren F1 Twitter account (@McLarenF1) had a very short statement from the team principal, Martin Whitmarsh which read: “We would like to thank Checo for being  a fine team member during the 2013 Formula 1 season”