The Mexican, who will return to F1 with Cadillac in 2026, recounted his experience with the team: “Horner told me right away that the car was built for Verstappen. If I won, it was a problem; if I drove slowly, it was even worse. Impossible.“
”The psychologist ended up costing me £6,000 per session.“ In just under a month, Sergio Perez will be back on track with his Cadillac. He will do so after a year away from the wheel but, above all, after four seasons at Red Bull in the uncomfortable role of Max Verstappen’s ”sidekick”: “A difficult situation to bear, only those who are really mentally strong can withstand something like that.” So the Mexican decided to speak out, revealing secrets and difficulties from his years in Milton Keynes.
The story between Red Bull and Sergio Perez came to an abrupt end in late 2024, when the Mexican’s disappointing season convinced Helmut Marko to tear up the two-year contract renewal signed a few months earlier. However, Perez had realized from the early months that the atmosphere within the team was not the easiest: “When I arrived, I struggled a lot right away,” the driver told the Cracks podcast. “The results weren’t coming, to the point that they advised me to see a psychologist.” And Checo did go. Unfortunately, “a few months later, I received a bill for £6,000 from the factory… for a single session. I told them to send it to Helmut Marko. And in the end, he paid it.“
”MAX? HELL“— To complicate matters, there was the uncomfortable coexistence with Max Verstappen. ”It was hell,“ says Perez, ”probably the worst role you can have in F1.” But the team’s priorities were clear. “At our first meeting, Horner explained to me that the car was tailor-made for Max and that the team only used two because the regulations required it.” This situation was also evident on the track: “Being faster than Max was a problem, going slower was even worse… it was all a problem. And when I won, the atmosphere was really tense.”
EMILIO’S PNEUMONIA— An emblematic episode occurred at the end of the 2023 world championship, when Red Bull imposed a one-two finish on its drivers. “It would have been the first time in the team’s history,” says Perez, “and I was in a fierce battle with Hamilton for second place. The pressure was enormous, and shortly before one of the decisive Grand Prix races, in Qatar, my son came down with pneumonia. I had to make a choice, so I asked the doctor if Emilio was in danger of dying. In the end, I spent the whole week in the simulator, while at the factory they thought I was crazy. This shows how much I gave to Red Bull: on and off the track, I always gave 100%.”
END OF THE ROULETTE?— Without a contract for 2025, Perez saw his seat at Red Bull given to New Zealander Liam Lawson, who was then demoted to Racing Bulls after only two races. “I knew very well what would happen with Liam. The team knew it too, and when I asked Horner what they would do in case of difficulties, the answer was simply ‘we’ll use Yuki’. And what if things didn’t work out with him either? ‘We have lots of drivers… we’ll use them all,’ he replied.” A real game of roulette, which, with the departure of Horner and Marko, could finally come to an end.
