Sergio Perez insists he has “nothing to prove” when he returns to Formula 1 with Cadillac in 2026, despite leaving Red Bull under difficult circumstances at the end of 2024.
The Mexican driver, now 35, will line up alongside fellow veteran Valtteri Bottas as part of the new American outfit’s debut campaign.
After a year on the sidelines, Perez says his comeback is about passion and perspective, not validation.
A Tricky Place to Be
Perez’s exit from Red Bull followed several turbulent seasons alongside Max Verstappen, where he struggled to adapt to the team’s car and was ultimately replaced by Liam Lawson who ceded the hot seat to Yuki Tsunoda after just two races.
Both successors failed to impress the demanding second Red Bull machine, leaving Perez convinced that his reputation doesn’t need rescuing.
“I feel like there's nothing to prove. Not just because of the current drivers or the next drivers that were in my seat but even before that,” Perez said after Cadillac’s driver line-up unveiling on Tuesday.
“Now everyone forgets about it, but it's been a very tricky place to be in, to constantly be adapting, to build confidence mentally. It's a very unique challenge.
"I don't think I have anything to prove when you see the amount of points they've scored. It's like five points in the entire season [seven points, actually].
“To me, it's more of a comeback to enjoy the sport, I want to enjoy the sport that I love, the sport that has given me so much. I couldn't afford to leave the way I left the sport, and this is why I'm coming back with this new project.
“I hope it's a very successful one. But amongst that, more than anything, I want to enjoy this comeback.”
Time Away to Reset
Perez admitted that stepping away from racing in 2025 was critical for regaining clarity about his future.
“For me, it was very important to have this time off the sport, especially because it only became clear towards the end of the year that I was not going to continue with Red Bull,” he explained.
“So, instead of jumping into something just for staying on the grid, I needed that time to disconnect from the sport and to understand what I really want next in my career.
“It wasn't very clear for me in the beginning, especially the first couple of months, what I wanted to do next.
“The more I was talking to the Cadillac team, the more it became apparent that this is what excites me to go back.
“It's just not going back to the grid with a regular team to fight for podiums and races and points. This is a whole project. The dynamic, I feel, is different.”
A New Outlook
The break also gave Perez a fresh perspective on life as a racing driver.
"I learned about myself as a driver. I've been in the spotlight for my entire career – not just in Formula 1, even from the karting days.
“You realise that once you step back and look at the sport as a fan, things that racing drivers worry about are totally irrelevant to the public aspect, even to the people that know the sport.
“My vision now, coming back to the sport, is to enjoy it and give the maximum every single time I'm in the car, working with the team, that's really what matters. All the rest are external factors.”
Pride Beyond Podiums
With Cadillac starting from scratch in 2026, Perez knows podiums won’t be the immediate or even the mid-term benchmark. Instead, progress and effort will define success.
“Sometimes if your car is competitive, you make it to the podium, but sometimes you've done a tremendous race and you finish P15,” he noted.
“The driver that finishes P15, knowing that [he] has done the maximum together with the team and that they are progressing, that should be something to feel proud of, watching the sport from the outside.”
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