Sergio Perez: “Everything” at Red Bull was geared towards Max Verstappen

Perez accepts Red Bull’s Verstappen-first structure

Sergio Perez has revealed that everything at Red Bull was directed towards Max Verstappen during their four years as team-mates, a reality the Mexican driver said he had to accept rather than challenge.

However, Perez rarely matched the Dutchman over a full season, with his form falling significantly during the final 18 months of his Red Bull spell. After taking a sabbatical in 2025, he has returned to Formula 1 with Cadillac. His current chapter is covered in more detail in Cadillac’s F1 progress and Perez’s midfield points chase.

“You just don’t have that”

“To face Max at Red Bull is the toughest challenge. I mean, even to face Max at any other team would be very tough,” Perez said. “But to face him at Red Bull, with his team, his people, his surroundings, it’s tough, and you need the best of the best in every area, and you just don’t have that.”

Perez said he quickly understood that the team’s most experienced engineering resources were available to Verstappen. That included senior engineers and engineers with greater experience, creating what he viewed as a clear hierarchy inside the organisation.

“While he has all the opportunities in terms of engineering, senior engineers, experienced engineers, everything goes to Max,” Perez said. “But I knew that before I came, so I thought, ‘Look, I can either complain or get on with what I have,’ and that’s what I did.”

Pride in consistency

Rather than changing his support group, Perez kept the same engineering team throughout his four years at Red Bull. He presented that decision as one of the aspects of his tenure of which he is most proud.

“The four years I was there, I kept the same engineering team. That’s something I feel extremely proud of,” he added.

Perez’s account underlines the scale of the challenge he faced: competing against Verstappen while accepting that the strongest internal resources were aligned with the reigning team leader.