Cadillac F1 team’s new driver, Sergio Perez, has opened up about his past experience of racing with Red Bull, offering his verdict as a “tricky place” for any driver to be in, given the “unique challenge” drivers face “mentally.”
Perez comes to Cadillac F1 with a long premier class career that began in 2011 with Sauber. His joining Red Bull in 2021 proved to be a fruitful partnership in the first two years, but things began to shift in the second half of the 2023 season.
The performance gap between Perez and his world champion teammate Max Verstappen widened considerably, causing the Mexican driver to come under immense pressure. In 2024, the balance problems on Red Bull’s challenger became more evident, especially on Perez’s RB20.
Verstappen, meanwhile, secured his fourth championship due to his early-season dominance. However, the second half of the season was taken over by McLaren, which won the Constructors’ Championship.
Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing walks in the paddock during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on December 7, 2024 in Abu Dhabi,…
Sergio Perez of Mexico and Oracle Red Bull Racing walks in the paddock during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on December 7, 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
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Unfortunately for Perez, he was ousted following the season finale on performance grounds. Red Bull replaced him with Racing Bulls (then VCARB) driver Liam Lawson, who was demoted back to the junior F1 team after the first two races of the 2025 season for performance concerns.
Lawson was replaced by his former teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, who now faces similar challenges. Following the Cadillac F1 signing announcement, Perez was asked if he resonated with Lawson and Tsunoda’s struggles at Red Bull. He said:
“I feel like there’s nothing to prove, you know, not just because of the current drivers or the next drivers that were on my seat, but even before that, you know, now everyone forgets about it.
“But it’s been a very tricky place to be in, you know, to constantly be adapting, to build confidence, mentally it’s a very unique challenge. And yeah, I don’t think I have anything to prove, you know, when you see, like, the amount of points that they’ve scored, it’s like five points in the entire season. So I think I’ve got nothing to prove in that regard.”
Addressing his F1 return in 2026, the 35-year-old driver said:
“To me, it’s more about coming back to enjoy the sport. I want to enjoy the sport, the sport that I love, the sport that has given me so much.
“I couldn’t afford to leave [F1] the way I left the sport [last year], you know? And this is why I’m coming back with this new project. And yeah, I hope it’s a very successful one.
“But amongst that, more than anything, I want to enjoy, to enjoy this comeback.”