Sergio Perez has revealed the challenges he faced as Max Verstappen’s teammate during a difficult spell of his Formula 1 career.
2026 sees Perez carving out a new chapter of his career at Cadillac, joining the team as it navigates its maiden campaign in Motorsport’s top flight.
Though Cadillac remains firmly at the bottom half of the grid, his efforts, although point-less to date, have seen the team shrink the gap to the midfield,
Back at the end of the 2024 season, however, his prospects looked somewhat bleaker, fired by Red Bull after a torrid two years, preceded by a competitive maiden year with the team in 2022.
Reflecting on this challenge, which saw Perez teammates with Verstappen at the height of his dominance, Perez revealed he knew the scale of the mountain he faced with a revelation over team priorities.
“To face Max at Red Bull is the toughest challenge,” he said on the High Performance podcast.
I mean, even to face Max at any other team would be very tough,”
“But to face him at Red Bull, with his team, his people, his surroundings, it’s tough, and you need the best of the best in every area, and you just don’t have that, you know.
“While he has all the opportunities in terms of engineering, senior engineers, experienced engineers, everything goes to Max. But I knew that before I came, so I thought, ‘Look, I can either complain or get on with what I have,’ and that’s what I did.
“The four years I was there, I kept the same engineering team. That’s something I feel extremely proud of.”
Sergio Perez reveals Red Bull mentality
Perez revealed that he still remembers his tenure at Red Bull with fondness despite the the steep decline, a factor brought on by then Team Principal Christian Horner’s confirmation that the team would only race Verstappen’s car if permitted.
“I knew I was going into a project that was built for Max over the years. When they signed me up, it was very clear. I knew what I signed up for,” he explained.
“The first time I met Christian [Horner] he told me ‘we go racing with two cars because we have to. Otherwise we would be super happy just to race with one car. Everything is for Max, around Max, we want to win the championship.’”
Perez confirmed that he was aware of this mentality prior to his arrival: “Yeah. So, instead of me thinking ‘oh why’, I say ‘I come here and I make the most of it in all regards’. And it’s what I did.
“I went there with the tools available that I had to my expense. I think I overdelivered in all areas over there. It worked out perfectly.
“Of course, it turned out, there were some very tough times, very tough periods towards the end as well. The pressure and everyone internally were… We had too much success so people got bored I think and they were fighting each other and you know all the drama around.
“But they were [a] fantastic four years. I think I overdelivered and only once I left and they brought in all the other drivers they realised the job that I’ve done for them for four years.”
Acceptance in order survive
The Mexican then revealed his own mentality during his struggles: acceptance of his situation in order to survive.
“I think the only reason I survived there for so long is because, first of all of how I built my character. So for me it was like peanuts,” he said.
“Being in that position and accepting it… I think you have to accept in which position you are, and you cannot over push the system too much because they just break you. Also I was completely on my own at Red Bull.
“In terms of management, I felt like there was not much we could do with the system. This is what you get given and this is it.”
“The team was behind me, like Christian and Helmut would be happy if I win a race. But at the end of the day, they will tell me the whole project is done for our driver and our driver is Max. So for me it was clear and I accepted that. I just tried to make the most of it.
“There were years were I thought we are on a par, I can really give a fight but then as soon as there were upgrades, the difference would increase quite a bit.”
Perez’s revelations unveil a mentality of Red Bull during the height of its power, and go some way in explaining his dramatic inconsistencies in performance.
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