Perez discloses huge psychologist bill picked up by Helmut Marko

10:01, 07 Jan

byTobia Elia

Sergio Perez has shared an anecdote from his time at Red Bull, revealing how Helmut Marko once paid for a hefty therapy session for him.

"One day he arrives at the Red Bull factory and says: 'Hey, there’s a bill for you'"

- Sergio Perez

The Mexican, now just weeks away from his F1 return with Cadillac, has revisited his painful Red Bull exit in December 2024, which came at the end of one of the toughest seasons of his career in terms of results and after a brutally lopsided comparison with Max Verstappen.

Appearing on the Cracks Podcast, Perez revealed a specific moment early in his time at Milton Keynes when, after a lack of results in the opening races, he was advised to see a psychologist — with Helmut Marko ultimately footing the bill for the session.

“As soon as I arrived at Red Bull, in the first few races when the results weren’t coming, they told me: ‘What you need is a psychologist. You have to see a psychologist.’ I was completely open to it, so I agreed.

Sergio Perez - Photo: Red Bull Content Pool

“I spoke to the psychologist and said, ‘Look, I don’t really have time for a full session today, but let’s talk — let’s find an hour.’ He was English. Everything was set.

“One day I turned up at the Red Bull factory and they told me, ‘There’s a bill for you.’ It was £6,000 — from the psychologist. I said, ‘Can you send it to Helmut? He’s going to pay for it.’

He finally added: “It was £6,000 for a single call. Later, Helmut asked me, ‘So, how did it go?’ I told him, ‘Perfect — with this session, we’re already good.’ And that was it. We lasted three years. The psychologist ‘cured’ me, the results started to come… so clearly, that call worked.”

Perez reveals final Horner conversation after being replaced by Red Bull

On the same podcast, the Mexican also revealed that he had one final conversation with Christian Horner after being informed of the decision to drop him for the following season.

Perez effectively predicted the same fate that later befell Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, both overwhelmed by the comparison with Verstappen and ultimately cut loose from Red Bull’s plans for 2026.

Read the full conversation here.

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