Perez: "I thought, 'This is not remotely like Formula 1'"

Sergio Perez is currently in his 11th Formula One season, making him one of the most experienced drivers on the grid. In the week of his home race in Mexico, the Red Bull Racing driver talks about his path to the top, which has often been uncertain.

His racing career began to take serious shape when he moved to Europe as a teenager. All alone, he arrived at a hotel on the highway, where mostly truck drivers stayed overnight. "It was full of trucks. The drivers slept there for a few hours and then moved on," Perez begins his story.

Moving to Europe seemed like deception to Perez

"I thought, 'This is not Formula 1. It doesn't look like Formula 1 in the slightest'," he continued. The Mexican had a difficult start, struggling with homesickness and a language barrier. "I was all alone and was very lonely. I only played computer games for four weeks."

By his own admission, he didn't have much else to do. "I had no phone and no internet, " the Red Bull driver continues. Later, his team owner offered him to come and live in his restaurant, which was already a great improvement for the driver. "I was hungry all the time because it smelled of food, so the chef wasn't too happy that I was living there," jokes the Mexican.

For a long time, Perez continued to suffer from loneliness and even considered giving up and returning to Mexico. The language barrier remained a major problem during his stay in Germany. "My engineers spoke bad English and I spoke bad English, so that didn't make it easier," he explains.

"That and the loneliness had a negative impact on my performance, and I considered going back home. On the other hand, I didn't want to give up because I knew that if I did, I would never come back," Perez says.