How Did Mexican F1 Hero Sergio Perez Get to Live His Ultimate F1 Dream?

Sergio Perez has previously driven for teams like Sauber, McLaren, Force India, and Racing Point. He began his career in Karting at the age of 6 in 1996. While in his karting years, he didn’t even have a subconscious thought about reaching the apex of motor sporting. And an on-track collision with the wrong people almost put an end to his karting career as well.

As quoted by theplayerstribune.com, Perez said, “When I was in my early teens, I had a special permit that allowed me to race go-kart against much older drivers. This one season, the championship winner would get a test in formulas, so my plan was to win it and get signed by Escudería Telmex. I was leading the championship, but then I crashed with this guy who was very powerful within the Mexican racing federation. Long story short, they withdrew my license.”

The dream had come crashing down even before being close to its realization. However, Escuderia Telemax still offered him a seat to race in the Skip Barber National Championship in the US. Soon he visited his brother who was racing in the Formula 4 championship in Europe. And in his words, “Suddenly, I only wanted to race in Formula One.” And the rest is history.

Sergio Perez’s Journey in Formula 1

Though a racing driver who showed promise, his first win came much later at Sakhir GP 2020. The win impressed the Red Bull team so much so that they saved him from retirement by offering him a seat in their car. And he hasn’t disappointed since.

Being a part of the Ferrari Driver Academy, he made his Formula 1 debut in 2011 with Sauber. He bagged his first podium at the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix and he began being referred to as The Mexican Wunderkind. But a milestone break with a big team only came to him when McLaren replaced the outgoing Hamilton with the Mexican. But that stint only lasted for a year as he was, in turn, replaced by Kevin Magnussen.

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Checo signed for Force India after being ousted by McLaren. This was his longest stint with a team. Even after the team had to rebrand itself to Racing Point in 2019, Checo stayed. He signed a 3-year extension the same year but was pushed out because the team wanted to sign Sebastian Vettel. Red Bull’s quadruple world champion Vettel had replaced the Mexican, and the latter knew it was time to hang his boots.

But as fate held, Perez found a seat at Vettel’s old home, Red Bull. The Milton Keynes outfit had been looking for a long time to find some to partner with their prospective champion. Dr. Helmut Marko also admitted that he has been the perfect teammate to Max Verstappen.

Perez played a key role in Verstappen’s 2021 title fending off Lewis Hamilton on several occasions. The team player that the Mexican is, he has helped bring home even the constructors’ championship after almost a decade. Never disobeying team orders, he always abides by the team whip.

Sergio Perez, The Mexican Minister of Defense

On two very significant occasions in 2021, Perez became the Wall for Hamilton. During the 2021 Turkish GP, Perez proved to be Hamilton’s biggest hurdle that day.

However, Checo’s greatest contribution to Verstappen and Red Bull is Abu Dhabi, 2021. Perez was kept out longer to help Verstappen come back into play and he defended like a lion. “Checo is a legend” is the famous radio line from Verstappen from the Abu Dhabi showdown.

But his contribution wasn’t acknowledged a year later at Brazil GP, 2022 when Max Verstappen did not give up his non-podium contention place in favor of his teammate. It eventually cost Checo second place in the championship. However, Max seemed rather unfazed about it but after the fiasco, the team put up a united front going into the last race of the season. But for Checo, the battle was already lost.

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Going into the penultimate year of his Red Bull contract, Sergio Perez enters the 2023 season. Only time will tell what the future holds for the Mexican at Milton Keynes outfit and the sport itself.