Sergio Perez Says Red Bull Exit Was a Blessing in Disguise as He Prepares for His F1 Comeback
Former Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez has reflected on his departure from the Milton Keynes-based outfit, revealing that he now considers his 2024 season exit as “the best thing that could have happened” to his Formula 1 career.
Perez, who partnered four-time world champion Max Verstappen from 2021 to 2024, had long been viewed as a dependable deputy—someone capable of supporting Verstappen’s relentless push for titles while picking up strong points and occasional victories. However, his struggle for form in the 2024 season left him increasingly vulnerable. With inconsistent performances and difficulty keeping pace with the championship-winning side of the garage, speculation grew steadily throughout the year that his time at Red Bull was coming to an end.
When the 2024 championship wrapped up, the contrast could not have been starker. Verstappen secured his fourth consecutive drivers’ crown, while Perez found himself down in eighth place, unable to extract the same level of performance from what many considered the grid’s fastest machine. Red Bull team boss at the time, Christian Horner, opted for a dramatic reshuffle: Perez was released, and young Racing Bulls talent Liam Lawson was promoted to take his seat.
The decision left Perez without a race drive for the 2025 season, marking a sudden and painful halt to a career that had seemed revitalized when he first joined Red Bull in 2021. The Mexican driver stepped away from Formula 1 entirely for a year, leaving fans to wonder whether he would ever return to the grid.
But in an unexpected turn, the landscape of the sport shifted rapidly during those 12 months. Horner departed Red Bull amid internal restructuring, Lawson struggled to adapt to the senior team’s notoriously demanding car dynamics, and Yuki Tsunoda—Verstappen’s 2025 team-mate—also encountered difficulties matching the Dutch driver.
And as those struggles unfolded, Perez’s reputation quietly began to recover.
Speaking to the Italian edition of Motorsport.com, Perez explained that watching other drivers wrestle with the same challenges he once faced helped restore confidence in his abilities. Lawson’s rocky maiden season at Red Bull, in particular, made many in the paddock reconsider how much credit Perez deserved for managing the role successfully for several seasons.
Perez noted that the current Red Bull machinery continues to be “extremely complicated to handle,” requiring a level of adaptability that few drivers possess—especially when inevitably measured against a generational talent like Verstappen.
“What happened with Red Bull, in the end, I knew it was the best thing that could have happened to me,” Perez admitted. “All the drivers who arrive, and those who will arrive in the future, will face the same difficulties. It’s a car that demands constant adaptation to Verstappen’s style.”
Perez emphasized that from his very first day in the team, he understood the environment he was stepping into. The Red Bull project had been tailored around Verstappen—a driver he believes is on track to become the greatest in Formula 1 history. Rather than resist that dynamic, Perez chose to work intelligently within it, helping secure multiple Constructors’ Championship titles for the team.
“I knew from day one that I had to be smart,” he said. “I knew my role, and I knew the entire project had been built around Max. And honestly, I think he will go down as the best driver the sport has ever seen.”
Despite being overshadowed by Verstappen, Perez insists that there is no lingering tension between them. His comments reflect admiration rather than frustration, acknowledging that sharing a garage with such an extraordinary talent was both demanding and educational.
Now, as he prepares to return to Formula 1 in 2026 with Cadillac, Perez believes he is entering the next chapter of his career with greater clarity and a renewed sense of purpose. Rather than feeling bitter about his Red Bull exit, he appears grateful for a period that forced him to reflect, reset, and eventually rebuild.
With Cadillac preparing for its debut and relying on Perez’s decade-plus experience, the Mexican driver is poised to play a central role in shaping the team’s future. And as the sport evolves once again, Sergio Perez is ready to prove that the end of his Red Bull journey was not a final curtain—but a necessary turning point toward an unexpected revival.
