Nothing to prove, Sergio Perez just wants to enjoy racing again

LONDON – Sergio Perez said that he had nothing to prove and just wanted to enjoy racing again after Cadillac announced the Mexican’s Formula One comeback next season.

Perez, 35, has not competed since he was dropped by Red Bull at the end of a difficult 2024 season and with two years left on his contract.

On Aug 26 he spoke of his excitement in the Cadillac project after signing for the newcomers with similarly experienced teammate Valtteri Bottas, and also noted Red Bull’s continuing problems without him.

“My main target is to enjoy it (again),” Perez told reporters in a video call with Bottas alongside.

“I want to get back to the enjoyment and this project just brings me that excitement back. I couldn’t afford to leave the way I left the sport, you know, and this is why I’m coming back with this new project.”

Perez finished 285 points behind four-time world champion teammate Max Verstappen in 2024 and was the only driver from the top four teams not to win.

Verstappen has had two more teammates this year and the Dutch driver has scored 187 of Red Bull’s 194 points from 14 races, with the team also replacing principal Christian Horner.

“When you see the amount of points they’ve scored (his replacements)... I don’t think I’ve got anything to prove in that regard,” added Perez.

Bottas, meanwhile, said there would be no rivalry between the pair.

“We’re here to work together. We don’t need to prove anything to each other,” said the 10-time race winner and former championship runner-up to Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.

“I have respect for Checo, I know he’s got respect for me, so we are in this together and really trying to guide the team forward and give everything to the team.”

Bottas also said he had been talking with Cadillac principal Graeme Lowdon for some two years about being part of the project and recognised there was “a mountain of work to do” with a likely difficult start.

“But we’re not there to stay at the back, we don’t want to finish last and I believe with this structure and group, these people, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to get relatively quickly up the pace and enjoy some success,” he added.

The choice of the experienced duo represent a safe and obvious choice for the General Motors-backed team’s debut Formula One season.

The pair are both multiple race winners, have more than 500 starts between them and were championship runners-up alongside two of the sport’s all-time greats Verstappen and Hamilton.

Cadillac could not have chosen more experienced drivers to lead their opening campaign and help the sport’s 11th team negotiate the pitfalls of what will undoubtedly be a challenging start.

To that extent, signing such expertise – and the inside knowledge of what makes a winning team – is something of a coup.

“It’s the right combination, the right drivers at the right time,” team CEO Dan Towriss told reporters after announcing multi-year deals for both.

“There are a ton of amazing drivers out there... ultimately it was this experience and leadership of these two individuals that stood out among the rest.”

There has been speculation about the drivers since Cadillac’s entry was announced last year, but in the end there was no real surprise in choosing two men who will be 36 before next season starts.

Those who had hoped for an American, at a works team proudly flying the US flag and with facilities in Indianapolis and Charlotte, will have to wait.

So too will those hoping to see Cadillac serve as a springboard for a youngster making the step up.

The list of such talents included Brazilian Felipe Drugovich, Denmark’s Frederik Vesti, Australian Jack Doohan, China’s Zhou Guanyu, Irish F2 prospect Alex Dunne and American rival Jak Crawford.

Mick Schumacher, 26-year-old son of seven-time world champion Michael, was also seen as a possible candidate after being discarded by Haas at the end of 2022 and switching to endurance racing. REUTERS