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Sergio Perez is hard at work preparing for his return to Formula 1 with Cadillac as he looks to put his demons from his final year at Red Bull behind him.
Red Bull decided to drop Sergio Perez halfway through his contract at the end of the 2024 season.
The struggles of Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda after his departure have provided more context to Perez’s final year alongside Max Verstappen, with Isack Hadjar the next driver set to try and compete with the four-time world champion.
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Perez is getting to grips with Cadillac, where many are expecting the American outfit to struggle during his maiden Formula 1 season.
There’s a very good chance that Cadillac will finish bottom of the constructors’ championship next year, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will be an unsuccessful season for the Mexican.
Despite his very difficult time with Red Bull towards the end, Perez has now admitted that his one-season stay with McLaren was even worse than what happened between 2021 and 2024.
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Perez was being interviewed at EXMA CDMX 2025 and asked whether his time at Red Bull or McLaren was his worst in Formula 1.
He said: “No, I think McLaren. McLaren was very tough because that’s where my career was just starting.
“It was my second year, and I had the chance to sign with three different teams, three big teams.
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“So, in your second year, you think you’re going to take Formula 1 by storm, right? That Formula 1 was too small for you and, well, all the teams want you, so you make a decision, and when you realise you made a bad decision, then I went from being the driver of the moment in Formula 1 to not having a seat for the following year, right?
“And I had only been in Formula 1 for three years.
“So, by my fourth season, there was no place for me. Fortunately, thank God, a great opportunity opened up at Force India and, well, I was able to have a very good story.”
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Speaking specifically about his spell at Red Bull, Perez continued: “What happened with Red Bull, in the end, I knew it was the best thing that could have happened to me, right?
“Because being at Red Bull in the conditions I was in was very demanding, and all the drivers who have come and those who will come will continue to have the same problems because it’s a very complex car to drive, and you’re constantly adapting to it.
“So, being an athlete, a driver, is a very mentally draining challenge, and often you have the whole team against you, criticising you in the media because there are a lot of things behind the scenes, politics that weren’t visible.
“Now, everyone realises what a great job I did during all those years, and it’s even more impressive, isn’t it? What I achieved there. So I would say yes. The much harder blow was McLaren.”
Two seasons with Sauber led to a move to McLaren in 2013, racing alongside Jenson Button.
Perez lost his McLaren seat less than 12 months after being signed, finishing 11th in the drivers’ championship with 49 points, compared to the 73 points the 2009 world champion scored.
Inconsistency plagued the Mexican’s campaign with McLaren, and he never quite hit the same heights as Button, with Kevin Magnussen promoted into his seat for 2014.
Replacing Lewis Hamilton was always going to be a difficult task, although Perez said arriving at Force India was depressing compared to what he was used to at McLaren.
His time in F1 turned out very well in the end, and should be used as an example of how one bad season doesn’t define a driver’s career.
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