max verstappen en sergio perez bij red bull

'Great guy Perez' critical added value' at Cadillac revealed by Verstappen

13:49, 28 Aug

Updated: 14:25, 28 Aug

byNorberto Mujica

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez were teammates at Red Bull for four years winning two Constructors' titles together. Following the Mexican's return to the F1 grid, the Dutchman has confirmed his former teammate's words, and revealed the holistic value the Mexican will bring to Cadillac.

During Cadillac's announcement of their 2026 driver line-up, Perez revealed Verstappen had been the first, out of all the other F1 drivers, to congratulate him on getting a seat at Cadillac and therefore making a comeback to F1.

When asked himself, if he had indeed talked to 'Checo', Verstappen confirmed the Mexican's story.

"I quickly, when I saw the news come out, I sent a message to him.

"I'm of course very happy for him, that he got a seat. He's a great guy and we've always got along very well. So, I'm happy to see him back on the grid.

Regarding how he will perform in his first season back ater the 2025 gap year following his Red Bull Racing axeing, Verstappen will wait and see first.

"How he's going to perform I think will also depend on how good the car is going to be, right?

"So, it's a bit difficult to say at the moment but it's a new opportunity and I'm sure he's very excited for it.

Is Cadillac the chance for Perez to prove a point? Verstappen answers

The second hal of the 2024 F1 season saw Perez released of his committments as a full time racing driver for Red Bull Racing. Will his Cadillac tenure serve as the best opportunity for him to prove his former teammate wrong?

Sergio Perez returns to Formula 1 after his time at Red Bull Racing

"It's a fresh start now. I think also inside [F1], one half of a season doesn't define what you can do. He's also quite easy on that. Some people maybe dwell on it a bit more.

"I think for Checo, it's a new start. You're excited. New cars, completely new cars also.

"And he has shown a lot of great things even before he got to Red Bull, during the Red Bull time. So, yeah, just need to go in there and enjoy it again and have a good time.

Perez' added value at Cadillac revealed

How will Perez help Cadillac exactly? Max Verstappen answered this question at length, highlighting the Mexican's traits.

"He has driven for a lot of different teams, so he knows a lot of things about how teams work.

"Every single team, of course, works a little bit in a different way. That's already, I think, a very interesting trait that sometimes is nice to understand what people are good at or where some teams are worse at. That's how it goes.

"Also, the behavior of cars, he's been in a lot of different regulations, a lot of different rule sets where other things were allowed, some were not allowed, but banned, stuff like that.

"To have that general understanding of how a great car is, how a car is that's not fantastic, I think, is very valuable for them to start because he has worked with many big teams."

In conclusion Perez' addition to Cadillace may be key to making the rapid progression the Mexican called for following his announcement as a driver for Cadillac come 2026.

"So yeah, hopefully that will push them forward in the beginning, because it's never easy to jump into Formula 1 and be competitive, of course, straight away. But yeah, we'll see how that goes.