Team boss backs Perez return with Cadillac – Whilst rumours swirl around the Formula One paddock concerning more Red Bull internal politics, one thing is clear as crystal, they have not solved the problem of their second driver alongside max Verstappen. Having religiously promoted from within. Red Bull made a break with tradition when they signed the redundant Sergio Perez to race for the Milton Keynes based squad back in 2021.
The Racing Point driver (now Aston Martin) had been allowed to run down his contract and with quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel waiting in the wings, Perez found himself out of an F1 drive as the 2020 season drew to a close.
In fact the season had concluded in Abu Dhabi some two weeks earlier when the white smoke from the enclave back at HQ was released and the Mexican driver announced as Max Verstappen’s team mate. In the two years since the departure of Daniel Ricciardo, the team had experimented with Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon alongside Verstappen, and although the British-Thai driver appeared to fair as well as any of his predecessors, the decision was made to drop him for 2021 and recruit Perez.
Perez: Longest tenure as Verstappen’s teammate
Sergio enjoyed the longest tenure of any driver as Verstappen’s team mate but the writing was somewhat on the wall as early as their first season together. In an epic duel with Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen claimed his maiden F1 drivers’ title which culminated with a last lap overtake on his rival, yet Perez could not match the performances of Mercedes’ No.2 and so for a record eight consecutive occasion, it was the team from Brackley who won team glory.
Despite winning two races in 2022, Perez was again to come up short in the drivers’ title race, losing out to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who for a while led Verstappen by 46 points early in the campaign. Finally in 2023 Checo gave Red Bull racing their first 1-2 in the drivers’ final standings, although this was the year when the team won all the Grand Prix but for Singapore, where Carlos Sainz was victorious.
Having started well in 2024 with three runners up and a third to Verstappen who won four of there first five races last season, the wheels began to come off Checo’s RB20 as first his qualifying form appeared to desert him. He was to finish the year with an average start position of just 9.33 and his classified finishing record was a tad better at 7.9.
As we now know all to well, Perez was battling with a car nigh on impossible to drive as Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda are proving this year. His permutation as a driver who was a tyre whisperer and one who extracts the most from each race lay in tatters, and despite backers offering some $30m a year, Sergio was out of F1 for this year.
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Otmar backs Checo F1 return
With a number of the grid signed up beyond the end of 2025, there are an unusually few contemporary F1 drivers with recent experience available for selection by the incoming Cadillac team. Ex-Alpine and Racing Point/Aston Martin team boss, Otmar Szafnauer, who worked with and managed Perez during his time at the Silverstone based team now claims Perez is the number one choice for Cadillac in their search for an experienced F1 driver.
Szafnauer, argues that Perez remains the driver he was when winning for Racing Point, it was just he came up against Max Verstappen. “Can Checo be able to return? If you ask me, he’s good enough for that, yes”, Szafnauer tells Formula.hu. “When he competed for me, he had everything: the fighting spirit, the talent and the skills. I think he had the same thing at Red Bull.
“Towards the end, he may have lost sight of the ball a little, but you have to remember that he was facing Max Verstappen there. He is a wonderful driver who rarely makes mistakes and has a great sense of tyre management. I think these are his strengths.”
When questioned over any apparent weaknesses the Mexican driver might have in his armour, Szafnauer refused to comment on Checo’s time at Red Bull but said: “but for sure he was very, very good for us,” before concluding. “I think a guy like Checo, who has such a lot of experience, can make a successful comeback. It wouldn’t be a problem for him at all.”
No US driver available for Cadillac
Sergio is in ‘advanced talks’ with the Cadillac leadership and was coincidently present in Miami when the new F1 team made their official F1 launch. Fans lined the streets shouting their encouragement to the Cadillac management chanting, “Get Checo, Get Checo…”
During the F1 team application process, Mario Andretti who is a non-executive director for the Cadillac F1 project stated it was a preference that the team included an American driver. Yet the pool of experienced talent is limited, with Logan Sargeant and Alexander Rossi being the only two US citizens who have competed in F1 in more than a decade.
Rumours persist that the exciting young Indycar driver from California, Colton Hertz, is poised to make the jump across the pond, yet at present his points accumulated are not enough for an F1 super license. In reality Cadillac need all the help they can get from the off and their plans may have to change to include two drivers with recent F1 experience. Whilst Perez is not ‘an American’ he is a popular driver and does represent North America, something Dr. Marko once appeared confused about.
No news on Lance Stroll’s recovery
If this is to be the case, Perez is a shoe in for one of the seats along with Valtteri Bottas and his ten Grand Prix victories. The learning curve in all aspects of Formula One will be huge for Cadillac to climb and it will make life much simpler with drivers who know what they should be doing.
Meanwhile at his old stomping ground in Silverstone, no news has been forthcoming over the condition of Lance Stroll for the upcoming Canadian Grand Prix. The son of the Aston Martin team owner was a shock last minute withdrawal from the race in Barcelona. It could be that Valtteri Bottas gets an F1 return sooner than he expected were Stroll to remain unfit to drive after allegedly suffering a recurrence of pain from his 2023 cycling accident which caused Lance to miss pre-season testing.
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Stroll’s sudden exit from the Barcelona race was initially attributed to pain in his hand and wrist — believed to be the result of a cycling injury sustained ahead of the 2023 season. The team officially cited health concerns as the reason for the withdrawal, stating that he was unfit to compete on Sunday…. READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
Jak Crawford is definitely an option as long as he reaches super license eligibility & he has a better chance of doing so than Herta.