Sergio Perez believes being Max Verstappen’s teammate is the “worst job in F1”, such is the Dutchman’s ability and power at Red Bull.
The Mexican driver, who returns to the sport this year with Cadillac after a year out, was Verstappen’s teammate from 2021-2024 – all years in which the irrepresible Dutchman won the drivers’ world championship.
Perez finished second in the standings in 2023, amid a year of dominance where Red Bull won 21 out of 22 races, though the Mexican only claimed two victories compared to Verstappen’s astonishing tally of 19.
Now, ahead of his 2026 return, Perez has reflected on his time at Red Bull, acknowledging that it was a “problem” if you were slower or indeed faster than Verstappen.
"I was on the best team but it was complicated because being Max's teammate at Red Bull is the worst job there is in F1,” Perez, 35, told the Cracks Podcast. “I knew what I was up against.
"At Red Bull everything was a problem. If I was faster than Max it was a problem, a very tense atmosphere was created.
“It was a problem if you were faster than Max. If you were too slow and Max was slow, then everything was a problem."
"We had the best team. Unfortunately, everything was destroyed. We had the team to have dominated the sport for the next 10 years, I think, and unfortunately, it all ended."
Red Bull’s era of dominance ended in 2024, when McLaren beat them to the constructors' championship in a year of intra-team turmoil, with Christian Horner and sections of Red Bull hierarchy, as well as Jos Verstappen, feuding in the background.
Despite Verstappen winning the 2024 drivers’ title, Perez was dropped for Liam Lawson – himself axed after two races in 2025 for Yuki Tsunoda, who has now made way for Isack Hadjar – after finishing a lowly eighth in the championship and took a year's sabbatical from F1.
Perez has also driven for the likes of Sauber, McLaren and Force India during his time in F1 but will now take on a new challenge with a new team in Cadillac, partnering Valtteri Bottas as he starts his 15th season in the sport.
The 2026 F1 season starts on 8 March in Australia, with the first of three pre-season tests taking place on 26-30 January in Barcelona. Cadillac will launch their debut car in an advertisement during the Super Bowl on 8 February.
