Why Kimi Raikkonen was once absolutely furious with Sergio Perez after ‘stupid’ Monaco GP incident

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Sergio Perez may be nearing an incredible return to Formula 1 just one year after being dropped by Red Bull.

It seemed that the Mexican driver’s days at the highest level were over, but Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda’s poor performance in 2025 has helped to restore his reputation.

Perez was on the grid for 14 consecutive seasons between 2011 and 2024, and enjoyed success with multiple teams.

He finished runner-up to Max Verstappen in the 2023 drivers’ championship and has plenty of experience running in the midfield.

It makes him an excellent candidate to join the new Cadillac team, who are going to need personnel with strong knowledge as they begin their Formula 1 journey.

Cadillac have outlined their ‘main mission’ for Perez and need his help developing their car for the future. He wouldn’t be there to deliver results immediately.

Just over 10 years ago, Perez was ‘kicked’ from McLaren’s F1 team after struggling with their car. He always seems to perform better in underdog machinery.

READ MORE: How Red Bull feel about re-signing Sergio Perez as Yuki Tsunoda’s F1 contract runs down

Kimi Raikkonen was once furious with Sergio Perez after ‘stupid’ Monaco Grand Prix incident

Perez has sent a message to Cadillac as the time for an announcement regarding their line-up heading into the 2026 F1 regulations nears.

He has matured a great deal since he was a rookie in 2011, but has had his fair share of clashes along the way.

Particularly at the 2013 Monaco Grand Prix, while attempting an ambitious overtake on Lotus Renault’s Kimi Raikkonen, he managed to make contact at an awkward stage of the race.

Eventually, he would end up retiring, while Raikkonen would vent his frustration to the media after his 78 laps had been completed.

“That won’t help. Maybe someone should punch him in the face. Because of one stupid move from Sergio, we’ve lost a lot of points to Sebastian,” he said, according to The Sports Rush.

“He seems to expect people to be always looking at what he might do, then move over or go straight on if he comes into the corner too quick and isn’t going to make it without running into someone.”

READ MORE: Sergio Perez confidante says nobody has ‘noticed’ his biggest hint yet about Formula 1 comeback plans

What happened to Sergio Perez for the rest of the 2013 Formula 1 season?

After Monaco, Perez would continue to struggle with McLaren, finishing 11th in the championship. To this day, it’s his worst standing except for his rookie season.

He was dropped in favour of rookie Kevin Magnussen for 2014, and wound up at Force India alongside Nico Hulkenberg.

A best finish of fifth with a team that was competing for titles the year before would have been quite frustrating. He left the Ferrari academy for the big opportunity, but nothing much came of it.

Red Bull staff are now ‘missing’ Perez despite the rather sombre end that his tenure with them came to. It appears he was well-liked, and always has been by his colleagues.