Perez gives insight to the hardest job in F1: Being Verstappen's teammate

11:01, 05 Jan

byKada Sarkozi

Sergio Perez spent four seasons alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing and called it the hardest job in the competition.

"Being his teammate at Red Bull is the worst job in Formula 1, by far."

- Sergio Perez

Perez joined Red Bull Racing for the 2021 season, replacing Alexander Albon at the Austrian team. After finishing eighth in the standings in the 2024 campaign, the Mexican was let go by the Milton Keynes-based squad and replaced by Liam Lawson.

On the Cracks Podcast, the Mexican driver reviewed what it was like to be teammates with the four-time Formula 1 world champion.

He said: "I was on the best team, a complicated team. Being Max's teammate is already very difficult, but being his teammate at Red Bull is the worst job in Formula 1, by far."

According to the driver, people began to forget how hard it was to be alongside the Dutchman because of his results. Since the Mexican left, Red Bull replaced two drivers who followed him in their senior team, Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda.

Sergio Perez in the Red Bull garage - Photo: Race Pictures

'The Red Bull car was made for Verstappen'

Perez said that when he signed with the team, former team principal Christian Horner was upfront with him about becoming the number two driver of Red Bull.

He continued: "I knew what I was getting into at Red Bull. When I sat down with Christian, he told me, 'We're going to run two cars because we have to, but this project was created for Max; he's our talent.' I was very aware of that. I told him, 'It doesn’t matter,' I'm going to develop the car, I'm going to support the team."

Perez explained that he was on par with Verstappen during both the beginning of the 2022 and 2023 seasons, especially at the start of the ground-effect era, as the weight distribution favored his style. That lasted until the updates were introduced.

Perez added: "Then the pressure started, because who's to blame? The driver, because you're not focused, because you're doing too many commercials.

"The team complained about everything. At Red Bull, everything was a problem. If I was faster, it was a problem, it created a very tense atmosphere; if I was slower than Max, it was a problem. I learned that those were the circumstances I was in, and instead of complaining, I tried to make the best of it."

This year, a new chapter begins for 'Checo', as he returns to Formula 1 with Cadillac.

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