Sergio Perez reveals the ‘very bad luck’ that saw his one-season stint at McLaren end in disaster

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Sergio Perez’s 13-year Formula 1 career came to an end in 2024 after a disappointing last stint with Red Bull.

However, to last in the sport that long, you must be quick and successful over a sustained period, but things could have been so different for the Mexican.

His third season in 2013 was meant to be the stuff of dreams after signing a deal with the championship-contending McLaren outfit.

However, Perez suffered a disastrous year and ended up signing with the rival midfield outfit Force India for 2014, where he would remain for six years.

Perez isn’t ready to retire ‘completely’ yet and is waiting for the Formula 1 driver market to unfold ahead of next season.

There are a few openings that could be attractive, and Cadillac have refused to ‘definitely’ rule out Perez for 2026, as the new team may require his experience and expertise.

READ MORE: What Cadillac ‘sources’ have now ‘confirmed’ about their talks with Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas

Sergio Perez had ‘very bad luck’ at McLaren in 2013 after having ‘many’ F1 options

Even Helmut Marko made a Perez u-turn after seeing how much both Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda struggled in Red Bull’s second car this year. He has never quite received the praise he deserved.

During his rookie Formula 1 season in 2012, he faced a career-defining decision and could have signed with the legendary Ferrari team for 2014.

Instead of waiting for them, he chose McLaren and was excited to get to work with a team that had been a winning outfit for decades.

Unfortunately, it coincided with their downfall, and the 35-year-old recalled how he could have gone in another direction instead.

“Very bad luck because there were many options, was the novelty in 2012. I could have not gone to McLaren and I could have gone to Ferrari. But, Ferrari offered me for 2014.

“Continue at Sauber for another year [in 2013]. But McLaren came to me and McLaren was always fighting for the championship. It was just the year that Ron Dennis and Martin [Whitmarsh] were transitioning, fighting.”

READ MORE: Helmut Marko once delivered a brutal verdict on Sergio Perez in F3 before signing him for Red Bull

What happened to Sergio Perez during the 2013 Formula 1 season?

After two solid seasons with Sauber, Perez actually ended up scoring fewer points with McLaren than he did with the Swiss outfit.

His best result was fifth, which he then beat in each of his following five seasons with the Force India team, who weren’t exactly recognised for their front-running prowess.

In 2020, it looked like his career would be coming to an unfortunate end after Racing Point (formerly Force India) announced the signing of Sebastian Vettel for 2021.

Then Red Bull came to the rescue after a string of poor performances by Alex Albon, giving him another four seasons and in some of the best cars that he has ever driven.