Sergio Perez opens up on Red Bull exit and Cadillac rebuild: a fresh start after the turbulence

Sergio Perez is preparing for his Formula 1 return with Cadillac while shedding the last of the baggage from a turbulent late-2024 exit from Red Bull. The Mexican driver's departure from the championship-winning team marked an unexpected conclusion to his 12-season career at the pinnacle of motorsport, only to now embark on a new chapter as Cadillac makes its highly anticipated debut in Formula 1. After finishing 285 points behind teammate Max Verstappen and contributing to Red Bull's third-place constructors' championship finish, Perez has had ample time to reflect on what went wrong—and the answers he's providing paint a complex picture of life as Verstappen's teammate at a team with an elite-level program built around one driver.

The Red Bull exit: a contract negotiation that shocked the paddock

Perez's departure from Red Bull was far from straightforward. Despite signing a lucrative two-year contract extension in June 2024—a move team principal Christian Horner believed would "settle" the driver—Perez was ultimately ushered out with immediate effect following the 2024 season. What made this situation particularly complicated was the ironclad nature of his contract. Red Bull could not simply terminate Perez without triggering potential intervention from F1's Contracts Recognition Board, meaning both parties had to negotiate a mutually agreeable exit.

The negotiations took approximately 10 days after Red Bull's shareholders met on the Monday following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix finale to decide his future was untenable. Rather than being publicly dismissed, Perez was offered the opportunity to frame his departure as his own decision—a distinction that carries significant legal and financial implications. Team boss Christian Horner reflected on the June extension decision, admitting: "We elected to go early - which obviously didn't work. That's just life sometimes." In the end, Perez accepted a sabbatical from Formula 1 in 2025, with plans to remain involved with Red Bull's brand while stepping back from driving duties.

Perez's candid assessment: "everything was a problem"

Since his exit, Perez has become notably vocal about his struggles at Red Bull, providing insight into the psychological toll of competing as Verstappen's teammate. In an appearance on the Crack podcast, the former Red Bull driver offered a brutally honest assessment of his final years with the team: "Everything, pretty much everything. At Red Bull everything was a problem."

His criticism went deeper than mere performance metrics. Perez reflected on the paradox of his situation, stating that beating Verstappen created tension within the organization, while underperforming also became problematic. He characterized being Verstappen's teammate at Red Bull as simultaneously "the best and the worst job in F1, by far." This perception aligns with historical patterns at the Milton Keynes facility, where Perez later claimed that Red Bull team leadership informed him the organization essentially raced with only one car by choice, with the second seat mandated solely by sporting regulations.

Perez's final statistics underscore his dramatic decline: he scored just nine points in the last eight races of 2024, with his final podium appearance coming at the Chinese Grand Prix—round five of the season. This deterioration starkly contrasted with his strong opening to 2024, when he secured four podiums, including three runner-up finishes, in the opening five rounds.

Vindication through replacement driver struggles

While Perez took his sabbatical in 2025, his former team made moves that would ultimately validate his concerns about the competitive environment at Red Bull. Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda both underperformed expectations as his replacements, a development that has recontextualized Perez's 2024 struggles. These competitive struggles have shifted narrative perception somewhat, suggesting that Perez's decline may have been exacerbated by factors beyond driver capability—potentially including car setup philosophy, resource allocation, and the psychological strain of competing within a single-driver-focused ecosystem.

The Cadillac opportunity: a redemption arc begins

For the 2026 season, Perez has been announced as part of Cadillac's driver lineup, partnering with veteran Valtteri Bottas. At 35 years old, the Mexican driver is determined not to end his career on the low note that characterized his Red Bull departure. According to Perez, he feels there is "nothing to prove," yet the opportunity to demonstrate his capabilities outside the Verstappen shadow represents a significant motivation as Formula 1's newest manufacturer enters the sport.

This fresh start offers Perez the chance to reclaim his narrative. His extensive experience—including his pivotal role in Aston Martin's midfield resurgence during earlier years of his career—provides Cadillac with a knowledgeable veteran who understands team-building and driver development. Whether his return will provide the vindication he seeks remains to be seen, but Perez's journey from Red Bull's ambitious extensions to his redemption arc with Cadillac encapsulates one of Formula 1's most compelling recent storylines.