Perez silenced private doubts with Cadillac F1 return

Sergio Perez admits he had doubts about whether he should return to Formula 1 before signing with Cadillac after a year on the sidelines, but believes he has proven his abilities even in uncompetitive machinery.

Red Bull dropped Perez at the end of the 2024 season despite the six-time race-winner having only signed a contract extension earlier that year. A scarcity of seats for 2025 forced Perez to took a year out before opting to join Cadillac for its debut season in F1, and says he has answered his own reservations with how his comeback has gone so far.

“I think I've been performing at a very high level,” Perez told RACER. “Coming back to Formula 1, I had some doubts about coming back, but I'm really happy I came back because I managed to prove to myself that I'm still one of the best.

“I think people that understand the sport, it's easy for them to understand what level of performance I'm getting out of my car. In Formula 1, that's the most important, and I'm pleased with the level that I'm driving at at the moment.

“I was just a little bit burnt with the sport, how unfair the sport can be at times, and I felt like probably it was time to move on. But I decided to come back, I found a great challenge and I'm happy I did.”

Perez insists he was enjoying life away from F1 during last year, but he was fully prepared to commit to his return once he was excited by the Cadillac project.

“I was ready," he says. "I've always said that it's very important as an athlete to have a life out of it. At the end of the day, Formula 1, it's sort of a small part in our lives. We hope to live a lot longer than this, so it's very important to start thinking what's going to be outside the box, and for me that was always very clear.

“I have very exciting projects that I want to do, that I want to build and stuff, so I have a very busy life out of the sport. The time that I stop, I'm really looking forward to it as well because when you are in Formula 1, you have to be 100% on it.”

Perez’s performances have earned him interest from other teams on the grid, although he says he intends to remain with Cadillac beyond this season.

“Yeah, that (interest) has been nice to see," he said. "I think always when you're performing, your value goes up. Obviously, there could be some movements around and stuff, but for me, the main thing is to see what's going to happen here in the next coming months. I want to see this challenge moving forward.”