MEXICO CITY (AP) \u2014 Sergio \u201cCheco\u201d P\u00e9rez says being a teammate of Max Verstappen was “the worst job there is in Formula 1.”<\/p>\n
P\u00e9rez was beside Verstappen for four years at Red Bull before being dropped<\/a> at the end of 2024 with two years left in his contract. P\u00e9rez is returning to F1 this year with new team Cadillac<\/a>.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cI was on the best team but it was complicated because being Max\u2019s teammate at Red Bull is the worst job there is in F1. I knew what I was up against,\u201d P\u00e9rez told a podcast with Oswaldo Trava that was posted on YouTube on Sunday.<\/p>\n \u201cAt Red Bull everything was a problem; if I was faster than Max it was a problem, a very tense atmosphere was created; it was a problem if you were faster than Max,” P\u00e9rez said. \u201cIf you were too slow and Max was slow then everything was a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n P\u00e9rez’s best season was 2023 when he was runner-up to Verstappen. Verstappen won the championship again in 2024 but P\u00e9rez finished eighth and was released by Red Bull.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cWe had the best team, unfortunately everything was destroyed,” P\u00e9rez said. \u201cWe had the team to have dominated the sport for the next 10 years, I think, and unfortunately it all ended.\u201d<\/p>\n He will partner at Cadillac with Valtteri Bottas.<\/p>\n P\u00e9rez has been racing in F1 since 2011 and had his greatest success at Red Bull, including fourth in 2021, third in 2022 and second in 2023. He didn’t race last year.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n