‘I think we will surprise people’ – Perez on falling back in love with F1 after ‘difficult’ Red Bull exit and his hopes for Cadillac debut

Sergio Perez is back – in more ways than one. Yes, he's got himself a seat on the Formula 1 grid in 2026 with Cadillac after a year on the sidelines, but more importantly for the Mexican, he's got his spark back after a tumultuous and confidence-sapping final year with Red Bull.

Perez was riding the crest of a wave at the end of 2023 after scoring a career-best runner-up spot in the Drivers' standings, which helped Red Bull defend their Constructors' Championship title – and just a few months into 2024, he signed a new deal that would extend his stay at Red Bull to six years.

However, his form tailed off dramatically (he scored just nine points in the last eight Grand Prix weekends) and that culminated in an agreement with Red Bull to go their separate ways at the end of the campaign, despite Perez still having two further seasons on his contract.

That campaign took a toll on Perez, the Mexican leaving the sport on a low note, and not on his terms. He felt a little lost, which is understandable given this was the first time he wouldn't be racing full time for the best part of two decades – but the break has turned out to be a good thing.

"I didn't feel at the time [but I needed the break]," Perez told me when we chatted at Cadillac's Silverstone base ahead of his first seat fit with the team. "When you are in the sport, you are carried away with the fact that you are always thinking about your next year, your next race, your next contract.

"It's like you are in automatic mode. But once you are forced to step out of it like I was, you realise a lot of things and you see the sport different."

Does it feel like he's fallen back in love with F1 again? "Yeah, definitely,” says Perez, who cut a super relaxed figure throughout our chat. “You have to remember that my last six months at Red Bull were very difficult for myself in all areas.

"I started to have a bit of demotivation with the sport and I cannot let that happen because this is a sport that gave me everything.

"The day that I leave the sport, I want to leave it with a big smile and a lot of respect because the sport has given me everything."

Initially, Perez wasn't sure what he was going to do when he left F1 but after some time out, he realised he wasn't done with it yet – and that triggered talks with multiple teams about a seat on the grid for 2026.

"In the beginning, the first couple of months were great," said Perez. "I realised that I missed [F1] because I kept following it. I kept waking up for the races.

"I could see what was happening – I was talking to friends that were in the paddock, and I realised that probably I missed it more than I thought.

"And then when the conversation started with Cadillac and we could see that passion for racing, then, yeah, I felt like I still have something left in me."

Cadillac soon became the frontrunner to get his signature, with the American team offering Perez the kind of project that he wanted to get stuck into for what he feels will be his final hurrah in the sport.

"It feels great," said Perez, who has raced for Sauber, McLaren, Force India/Racing Point and Red Bull. "Now that I look back, it was like a dream scenario, being able to take a year out and then get that refreshment.

"After 15 years or so in Formula 1 to get that refreshment and then have all the energy again for what I see as my final stint in the sport... I have all the energy now to get back to it, to work with the team, to push the team forwards in all areas, on the simulator. It's a new team so we're starting basically from zero.”

The biggest lesson Perez has taken from the break is to try and live more in the moment when he gets back on the grid, and to enjoy what he is doing – something he realises he didn't do enough of in his first stint.

"When you are in that bubble of Formula 1 – because at the end of the day, Formula 1 is a bubble – as a driver you worry about a lot of factors," he said.

"You are not always satisfied because you didn't take the extra time that was in there and so on and you forget that the main thing is to enjoy it, because at the end of the day, we are privileged to be able to do what we love.

"That to me was like the biggest lesson: that you have to enjoy the sport because we are so competitive and we are so focused on giving our maximum that you forget to enjoy it."

Perez is aware of the challenges that lie ahead for Cadillac as a new team entering the sport in 2026, when sweeping new chassis and power unit rules will be introduced. But he takes heart from the immense amount of experience the team already has – staff having joined from a variety of rival teams on the grid – and the huge amount of investment General Motors are committing.

“I think one thing is getting everything ready for Melbourne, but the other thing is to get it ready and competitive, which we are all pushing for,” said Perez. “Having all that experience around us really helps us a lot.

“You see a lot of familiar faces, people that have been in the paddock for a lot longer than I've been there, a lot of experience with a will to prove themselves in the sport.”

Since signing the deal with Cadillac in the summer, Perez has embedded himself in his new team and used his immense experience in F1 to get stuck in in meetings.

He’s done a lot of simulator work already, too, with more planned and this week completed his first run in F1 machinery for nearly two years when he tested a 2023-spec Ferrari.

“It's been good being backwards and forwards with the team,” said Perez. “I've been pushing on some certain areas, giving some direction. It's great to have a team that you feel that you can influence and you can ask for certain things.”

Cadillac have entered F1 to fight at the sharp end – but they know that they have a steep climb to get there. With that in mind, Perez is realistic but optimistic about his ambitions for their first season together.

“To me, it's a bit irrelevant where we start,” said Perez. “What is more important is how quickly we are able to progress. I want to push the team forward from day one. I think we will be able to surprise a lot of people. That's a target for us, to be able to have a strong impact in Formula 1 since day one.”

And there’s a little bit extra riding on it as for Perez, he knows this is his last dance in F1 and he wants to finish it his way. “I see this as my main, big, final project in the sport and I want to make sure that I make it a successful comeback,” he said.