– Formula 1 driver Sergio Perez looked back on the final phase of his Red Bull time in the podcast High Performance and described the last six months as “extremely tough.” Perez said: “I actually consider myself mentally very resilient, but it was an exceptionally difficult time. I would even say: It was toxic.”
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Because the internal pressure at Red Bull was, according to Perez, “enormous”: The expectation for Perez was to build on his successes from previous years. From 2021 to 2023, the Mexican had won a total of five Grands Prix as a Red Bull driver and in 2023 enabled the first Red Bull “double victory” in the drivers’ standings with second place behind world champion Max Verstappen.
After a promising start with four podiums in five races, Perez’s streak of success abruptly ended in the following races of the 2024 season: After fourth place in Miami, he did not get better than sixth place in Zandvoort. He finished the year only in eighth place in the overall World Championship standings, while Verstappen became world champion again.
Internal power struggles worsen team atmosphere
In addition to the lack of results, Perez saw political power struggles within the team: “We simply had too much success. At some point, some people got bored of it and started working against each other.”
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Perez did not name names at this point, but with these statements possibly referred to then team principal Christian Horner, who had to leave the team in mid-2025 and was replaced by Laurent Mekies. Only then did calm return to Red Bull.
Perez did not know if there would be a comeback
Perez was no longer there then: He had agreed with Red Bull in the winter of 2024 on an early termination of his contract. Although it had been “a total of four fantastic years” at Red Bull, due to the various incidents “I really wanted a break,” said Perez. “The year outside of Formula 1 came at exactly the right time for me.”
In 2026, Perez finally returned: He signed with Formula 1 newcomer Cadillac. But the comeback was not planned at the time of his departure from Red Bull: “Back then I didn’t know if I wanted to come back. When I left Formula 1, I really thought that might be it. And I was at peace with that thought.”
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