Best moments of Sergio Perez’s F1 career including first pole, podium, win and more

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Sergio Perez returns to F1 in 2026 with Cadillac after being sacked by Red Bull, so F1 Oversteer looks at his best moments on the grid from his first win to pole position.

The Mexican made his debut in the pinnacle of motorsport driving for Sauber in 2011 thanks to Perez bringing with him a sponsorship deal from a Mexican telecom company. He stepped up to Formula 1 after coming in second to Pastor Maldonado for the GP2 Series title in 2010.

Sauber quickly saw the Guadalajara native put F1 on notice with his tyre management talent on debut. But being disqualified from the 2011 Australian Grand Prix also ensured his debut is one of Perez’s worst moments in Formula 1 during a career which saw him fight for a title.

Perez became a title contender for the first time in his F1 career whilst at Red Bull, who even overlooked their academy to land the Mexican for 2021. He also had spells at McLaren, who signed Perez to replace Lewis Hamilton for 2013, and Force India (including as Racing Point).

Red Bull released Sergio Perez from his contract ahead of the 2025 season

Perez emerged as a title contender in 2023 through his third of four seasons with Red Bull. It would be the high point of his stint in Milton Keynes, however, as Red Bull sacked Perez after a disappointing 2024 season because his woes cost them the constructors’ championship.

Former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner had only extended Perez’s contract through 2025 in June 2024 with his terms due to expire at the end of the year. But his lack of results after the ink dried was costly, with Perez finishing 2024 eighth in the drivers’ standings on 152 points.

READ MORE: Sergio Perez’s life outside Formula 1 from net worth to nickname

Horner even conceded at the 2024 season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that his decision to give Perez a contract extension early in the season ‘didn’t work’ after trying to ease some of the pressure off him. Teammate Max Verstappen won the 2024 drivers’ title with 437 points.

But Horner deciding to sign Perez to replace Alex Albon at Red Bull for the 2021 season also brought about many of the Mexican’s best moments in Formula 1. So, with that in mind, F1 Oversteer has taken a look into the best moments across Perez’s Formula 1 career to date…

Where did Sergio Perez make his Formula 1 debut?

Perez made his Formula 1 debut racing with Sauber in the 2011 Australian Grand Prix on the back of finishing second for the GP2 Series title in 2010. But after rising from the second tier of single-seater motorsport, his joy quickly turned to despair when Perez was disqualified.

Sauber saw their rising star shoot straight into the headlines in Melbourne as Perez showed his immense tyre management skills to make a one-stop strategy work. He kept enough life in his soft Pirelli rubber to run 35 laps and finish in the points with seventh place in the bag.

Yet post-race inspections found that Perez’s car and also that of his Sauber teammate Kamui Kobayashi, who finished the 2011 Australian GP in P8, both had illegal rear wings. The upper element of their rear wings did not satisfy F1’s regulations, so both drivers were disqualified.

Sergio Perez scored his first points in Formula 1 at the 2011 Spanish Grand Prix

It took Perez until his fifth Formula 1 race to score points, thanks to his disqualification from the Mexican’s debut, with Sauber seeing the Guadalajara native bank them two points with P9 in the 2011 Spanish Grand Prix. Perez took the finish ahead of his teammate, Kobayashi.

Perez followed his disqualification from the 2011 Australian GP by failing to finish the race in Malaysia when debris destroyed his ECU, before taking P17 and P14 in China and Turkey. Yet points were finally in the bag for Perez as F1 travelled to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Red Bull racer Sebastian Vettel beating McLaren rival Hamilton by only 0.630 seconds to win the 2011 Spanish GP earned most of the focus, as Perez flew under the radar en route to P9. But the Sauber star ensured he got some of the focus whilst fighting Felipe Massa of Ferrari.

Perez produced a daring dive to overtake Massa into the downhill, left-hander of Turn 7 on Lap 59 of 66 whilst fighting over eighth place. Renault racer Nick Heidfeld would ultimately move the Mexican back to P9 on the German’s charge from 24th place on the grid, though.

Heidfeld’s rise through the order also overshadowed Perez’s performance, despite climbing from 12th place on the grid to take his first points in Formula 1. Perez also became the first Mexican to score a point in F1 since Hector Rebaque took P4 in the 1981 Dutch Grand Prix.

Where did Sergio Perez take his first podium finish in Formula 1?

The 2012 Formula 1 season saw the birth of Perez as a leading midfield racer after returning for a second year at Sauber. It even only took him until the second race of the season at the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix for Perez to take his first podium finish in Formula 1 with second.

Perez nearly even became a Grand Prix winner at the Sepang International Circuit but had to settle for second place behind Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso. He took the chequered flag in P2, only 2.263 seconds from the two-time F1 champion, after rising from ninth on the grid.

Only a small mistake when Perez ran wide at T13 trying to put the Spaniard under pressure likely denied the Guadalajara native his debut race win amid changeable conditions. It was not his only off of the day, however, as Perez even skidded off at T12 as the rain intensified.

Alonso even called for the safety car due to the limited visibility, right as Sauber saw Perez aquaplane off the road on Lap 6 of 56, which swiftly followed as Jenson Button compared the final sector to ‘a lake’. The red flag was also soon out on L9 as the rain worsened again.

The conditions would improve greatly by the time the 2012 Malaysian GP resumed, seeing many drivers dart straight into the pit lane and get off the full wet tyres. Drivers pitting early also promoted Perez into P2, behind Hamilton, after Sauber chose to leave the Mexican out.

A slow pit stop for Hamilton when McLaren failed to jack up the rear of his car even moved Perez into the lead of the 2012 Malaysian GP. But Alonso soon used his experience to claim the lead with the superior line out of T2 after tempting Perez to go defensive into the bend.

The move to hard tyres on Lap 40 swung the momentum back in Perez’s favour as Sauber saw their star become the quickest driver on the circuit. But pushing hard came at a cost as the last stages neared, with Perez running wide at T13 soon after catching Alonso on Lap 49.

Sauber were straight on the radio to urge Perez, “Checo, be careful. We need this position.” He duly obliged and brought the car home in P2 for Perez’s first podium in F1 and Sauber’s first podium finish as a non-manufacturer team since the United States Grand Prix of 2003.

Sergio Perez won his first Formula 1 race at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain

Perez’s ability to nurse his tyres would often see the Mexican emerge as a potential podium candidate during his time at Force India, before the team became Racing Point in 2018. But Lawrence Stroll turning the Silverstone squad into Aston Martin in 2021 cost Perez his place.

Perez left the Silverstone factory after the team’s final season as Racing Point in 2020 due to Vettel joining for their first campaign as Aston Martin. It even left him without any place on the grid until Red Bull signed Perez in December 2020 to replace Albon from the 2021 term.

But the Mexican would leave Racing Point with a parting gift as Perez won his first Formula 1 race at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain. It was his penultimate race for the team and it even saw Perez fall to last place after the opening lap of F1’s second of two visits to Bahrain.

Covid-19 restrictions forced F1 to run a heavily modified calendar in 2020 and race twice at the Bahrain International Circuit. The Sakhir GP took place on the outer perimeter track not normally used for Grand Prix racing, around which Perez qualified in P5 with a 53.790s lap.

Hamilton testing positive for Covid-19 also saw George Russell rise up from Williams to race for Mercedes, and he qualified on the front row with teammate Valtteri Bottas. Russell even stole the lead into T1, forcing Bottas to bunch the pack up as Perez threatened to snatch P3.

Perez got a great start and utilised the outside line through Turn 1 to get a run on Red Bull’s Verstappen up the hill. But as he swept in for T4, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc locked up and the Monegasque pitched Perez into a spin. Verstappen even drove straight on into the barriers.

A safety car to recover Verstappen and Leclerc’s cars came as a welcome relief for Perez, as he pitted for a new front wing after just avoiding the gravel trap. But he fell to P18 and last before the restart on Lap 6 of 87, yet overtook McLaren’s Lando Norris on L20 to claim P10.

He even climbed into the podium places by passing Renault’s Esteban Ocon on L57, albeit a distant 25 seconds behind the Mercedes pilots before Williams stand-in Jack Aitken spun to bring out the safety car. But disaster quickly struck for Bottas, Russell and the Silver Arrows.

A botched pit stop saw Mercedes send Bottas back out without changing his tyres after the team failed to remove his front-left, gifting P2 to Perez. Mercedes also had to call Russell in again having fitted a mixture of the Briton’s tyres and those belonging to Bottas in his stop.

Mercedes’ dramas meant Perez led the restart of the 2020 Sakhir GP on L69 ahead of Ocon and Racing Point teammate Lance Stroll, with Bottas and Russell in P4 and P5. The latter of the Silver Arrows’ stars was a man on a mission, though, and Russell rose through the field.

It appeared likely to be only a matter of time before Russell overtook Perez for the lead of the Sakhir GP when he passed Ocon for P2 on L73 of 87 to leave a 3.428s deficit. But his run hit another snag on Lap 78 when Mercedes informed Russell that he had sustained a puncture.

Russell’s further demise as the Briton’s dream debut victory with Mercedes fell away meant Perez was in the clear to secure his first race win in Formula 1 with Racing Point in the 2020 Sakhir GP. He took the chequered flag 10.481s clear of Ocon, with Stroll a further 1.351s off.

When did Sergio Perez take his first pole position in Formula 1?

Qualifying has never been Perez’s strong point, and it took the Mexican until the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to seal his first pole position in Formula 1. After more than 200 attempts, Perez took his first career pole at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit by 0.025s to Ferrari’s Leclerc.

Red Bull were just third and seventh quickest with Perez and Verstappen after their first runs in Q3, as Ferrari locked out the provisional front-row. Leclerc even took the best time further away from the Red Bull racers with his second run to take provisional pole from Carlos Sainz.

But Perez overcame a 0.329-second deficit to Leclerc as the chequered flag fell by posting the fastest overall times in sectors two and three. Verstappen would not respond to Perez’s pace, too, and the Dutchman settled for fourth place on the grid with a 0.261-second deficit.

Yet Perez would not convert his first pole position in Formula 1 into the race win, and would also not finish the 2022 Saudi Arabian GP on the podium. Verstappen and Leclerc benefited from pitting under a safety car Nicholas Latifi brought out soon after Perez had just stopped.

Perez even illegally overtook Sainz behind the safety car after forcing the Spaniard off as the Ferrari driver exited the pit lane. The Red Bull racer had to yield the place come the restart, and went on to finish the Saudi Arabian GP in P4 – 10.800s behind race-winner Verstappen.

Sergio Perez won his first F1 Sprint at the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Perez won his first and so far only F1 Sprint at the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix when he also did the double with Red Bull in Baku. The Mexican enjoyed a near-perfect weekend next to the Caspian Sea, despite starting the Sprint from P2 on the grid and the Grand Prix from P3.

Ferrari star Leclerc topped the Sprint Shootout at the 2023 Azerbaijan GP by 0.147 seconds to Perez. But, despite a positive start, the Monegasque failed to convert pole into the victory as DRS saw Perez fly past Leclerc into Turn 1 to start Lap 8 of 17 and go on to win by 4.463s.

Leclerc also achieved pole position for the actual Azerbaijan GP in 2023 by 0.188s ahead of Verstappen and 0.292s to Perez. He also got another solid start off the grid, but DRS meant the Ferrari pilot was powerless to prevent Verstappen from taking the lead before T1 on L4.

Perez would mirror Verstappen to start L6 of 51 and breezed past Leclerc for P2 before then putting the Dutchman under pressure. Yellow flags for Nyck de Vries crashing his AlphaTauri at Turn 6 then tempted Red Bull to pit Verstappen, with Perez adopting the lead of the race.

Yet as Verstappen trundled down the pit lane, race control sent the safety car out. So, when Perez pitted on his next tour of the Baku City Circuit, the Mexican emerged ahead of Leclerc and Verstappen. Perez then controlled the race to win the Azerbaijan GP of 2023 by 2.137s.

Has Sergio Perez won a Formula 1 drivers’ championship?

At the time of writing, Perez has not yet won a Formula 1 drivers’ championship but fought for the title in 2023. The Mexican relished the dominant car that Red Bull built to challenge teammate Verstappen for the championship but his dream found its end in round 17 of 22.

Early-season victories at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where he also won the F1 Sprint, had Perez just six points behind Verstappen through four rounds. But failing to win the Miami Grand Prix from pole position would then derail Perez’s season.

Verstappen knocked Perez’s confidence by winning the 2023 Miami GP from P9 on the grid after being caught out by red flags in qualifying. The Dutchman scythed through the grid to beat Perez by 5.384 seconds, having managed his tyres better than his teammate achieved.

The Miami GP put Perez’s season in a downward spiral, aided by crashing in qualifying at the 2023 Monaco Grand Prix and ending the race in P16. Perez called the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix his ‘worst weekend ever’ in F1, too, after crashing in the Sprint saw Verstappen seal the title.

Perez ultimately finished the 2023 Formula 1 season second in the drivers’ standings on 285 points to Verstappen’s 575. It marked his highest finish to a championship, yet also returned fewer points than Perez registered in the 2022 F1 season when he came third on 305 points.

Sergio Perez’s best Grand Prix drives in Formula 1

Perez produced by far the best drive of his Formula 1 career to date to secure the Mexican’s first race win in the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix in his penultimate race for Racing Point. His drive to P2 in the rain at the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix for Sauber comes a close second, though.

While he was later disqualified from the 2011 Australian Grand Prix due to Sauber having an upper rear wing element that did not satisfy the F1 regulations, Perez’s efforts in Melbourne also made that display one of the Mexican’s best drives in the pinnacle of motorsport so far.

Perez astounded David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan with his tyre management skills at Albert Park, with both naming him as their driver of the day, after nursing a used set of softs for 35 laps to make a one-stop strategy work. He crossed the finish line in P8 from P13 on the grid.

Another of his best drives in Formula 1 also came with Sauber in the 2012 season at Monza when Perez finished the Italian Grand Prix in second place. He produced a number of strong overtakes, including on Kimi Raikkonen and daring moves on Ferrari duo Massa and Alonso.

An opportunistic afternoon at the 2016 Monaco Grand Prix also saw Perez rise four spots to gift Force India a podium with P3 in the Principality. He rarely put a foot wrong in tricky, wet conditions and was often among the fastest drivers to hold off Ferrari pilot Vettel by 2.021s.

Perez even won the Monaco GP with Red Bull in 2022 from third place on the grid. Like with the 2016 edition, the race started behind the safety car as Ferrari stars Leclerc and Sainz led the field away. But Ferrari’s strategy gifted a win Leclerc looked likely to claim over to Perez.