Sergio Pérez has once again opened up about his time at Red Bull. The Mexican drove for the Austrian team for four seasons between 2021 and 2024, where he initially had a supporting role alongside Max Verstappen; according to Pérez, the Dutchman immediately enjoyed an unprecedented preferential position within the team. He recalls a striking first conversation with then team principal Christian Horner.
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In 2021, Pérez immediately played second fiddle at the Austrian team. He helped his teammate to his first world title in Formula 1. In the following years, he increasingly challenged Verstappen for wins, but without success. In 2023, he became vice-champion, although he scored less than half the points of the Dutchman. The following year, he fell into a slump and the difference between the two became even more painfully clear. The team management decided to tear up Pérez’s new contract, forcing the six-time race winner to say goodbye to the premier class.
Racing with one car
This season, however, Pérez made his comeback at Cadillac and is once again in the spotlight. In an interview with the High Performance podcast, he opened up about his time at Red Bull. He recalled his first conversation with then team principal Christian Horner. According to insiders, the Englishman was decisive in signing Checo.
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Nevertheless, Horner made it clear at the start of the collaboration what role Pérez would have alongside Verstappen. “I had a great time at Red Bull,” said the 36-year-old driver upfront. “Fantastic even. At the same time, I knew I was entering a project that had been built around Max (Verstappen, ed.) over the years. That became clear when I signed my contract; I knew what I was getting into.” When asked how that was made clear to him, Pérez shared some striking statements from Horner. “The first time I met Christian (Horner, ed.), he said to me: ‘We race with two cars because we have to. We would be very happy if we could race with one car. Everything revolves around Max. We want to win the championship.’”
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