Perez: ‘Mental strength’ key to surviving Red Bull’s ‘undriveable’ car

Sergio Perez has opened up on his turbulent stint at Red Bull Racing, insisting that only his resilience allowed him to withstand the pressure of driving what he described as, at times, an “undriveable” Formula 1 car.

The Mexican, dropped by the team at the end of 2024, endured a season to forget in the tricky RB20 – a car that Max Verstappen nevertheless managed to tame on his way to a fourth consecutive title. Perez’s struggles left him eighth in the championship, paving the way for his exit and replacement by Liam Lawson.

But Lawson’s short-lived stint – followed by Yuki Tsunoda’s own battles – compelled Perez to highlight the unique demands placed on Red Bull’s second driver, emphasizing the team’s design philosophy tailored to Verstappen’s exceptional talent.

Managing to Survive

“It’s just the whole dynamics of the team,” he said. “Obviously, they have a unique talent over there with Max. It’s very difficult for the second driver that is there to basically adapt to the car.

“It’s a very unique car, very unique driving style that I managed, I’d say, to survive for many years.

“But it’s difficult and it’s the way it works, you know, and you’ve seen it with great drivers just before my time or even after my time.”

Again, Perez pointed to the struggles of his successors as evidence of the car’s challenges.

“I think Yuki and Liam, they’ve scored like five points or something like that.

“So it is very, very difficult, very tricky. And they’re fantastic drivers, you know, but it’s just the way it is to drive it. It’s just a very unique driving style.

“Sometimes I could cope with it, I could adapt to it, but as soon as there was a variable with the rain, with the wind or something, it just became undriveable.

“And then you start making mistakes one after the other, you are losing confidence – but mentally I was super strong and that’s why I survived there for so long, because I did have a lot of pressure and a lot of you guys [the media] were onto me.

"And now you realise the job I’ve done in that car and that team.”

Looking Ahead to New Regulations

Perez also reflected on how broader regulation changes have unsettled even the sport’s biggest names, citing Lewis Hamilton’s struggles with Ferrari in 2025.

“This era of cars that we’re currently in with the ground-effect cars, it’s been tricky,” Perez said.

“With Lewis, you have seen it, he’s done a tremendous job at Mercedes when they didn’t have a competitive car.

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“We’ve seen it with many different drivers that it’s all about adapting a car into a driving style, that sometimes it just takes a little bit longer than others,” he said.

“I’ve done well in the previous eras, so I do expect that the new regulations will suit my style.”

Perez, now one of F1’s longest-serving drivers since debuting with Sauber in 2011, clearly believes the toughest test of his career is already behind him.

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