Sergio “Checo” Perez is a Mexican driver who ended his F1 career with Red Bull Racing. Perez’s best result was finishing runner-up in the 2023 Drivers’ Championship. Perez has also driven for Sauber, McLaren, Force India, and Racing Point.
| Nationality | Mexican |
|---|---|
| Born | Sergio Michel Pérez Mendoza 26 January 1990 Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico |
Graduating from karting to junior formulae in 2004, Perez won his first championship in the national class of the 2007 British Formula 3 International Series. He progressed to the GP2 Series in 2009, finishing runner-up to Pastor Maldonado the following season.
A member of the Ferrari Driver Academy from 2010 to 2012, Perez signed for Sauber in 2011 to partner Kamui Kobayashi. He made his Formula One debut at the 2011 Australian Grand Prix, where both were disqualified for an illegal rear wing. Perez found greater success with the team in 2012, taking his maiden podium in Malaysia and repeating this feat in Canada and Italy. With his success at Sauber, Perez was often called “The Mexican Wunderkind.”
For the 2013 season, Perez moved to McLaren, replacing Lewis Hamilton to partner Jenson Button. His time at McLaren was challenging, as the team faced performance struggles, and Perez finished the season without a podium finish, leading to his departure from the team after just one season.
In 2014, Perez signed with Force India, securing five podium finishes with the team over the following season, mostly in races where tyre management was crucial. In 2018, Force India underwent a mid-season rebranding to Racing Point, and Perez continued with the newly branded team. His highlight during this period came in 2020 when he achieved his maiden Formula 1 victory at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix; a win made more remarkable after recovering from last place at the end of the first lap. That season, Perez finished fourth in the 2020 Drivers’ Championship, his highest position with the team.
However, Perez was replaced by Sebastian Vettel at the rebranded Aston Martin team for the 2021 season. Shortly afterwards, Pérez signed with Red Bull Racing, partnering with Max Verstappen. He quickly adapted to the new team, securing his first win at the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Over the next two seasons, Perez played a vital role in Red Bull’s success. In 2022, he claimed victories at the Monaco and Singapore Grand Prix and earned his first-ever pole position in Saudi Arabia, finishing the season in third place. In 2023, Pérez improved again, finishing runner-up to Max Verstappen in the 2023 Drivers’ Championship.
Perez achieved six race wins, three pole positions, 12 fastest laps, and 39 podiums in Formula One. He held the Formula One record for the most starts before a race win (190) and the most races before a pole position (219).
Although Perez had initially signed a contract through 2026 with Red Bull, it was announced on 18 December 2024 that he would depart the team after four seasons, meaning Max Verstappen would have a new teammate for the 2025 season. The following day, 19 December, it was confirmed that Liam Lawson would join Verstappen at Red Bull for 2025. Perez would not feature on the grid in 2025.
Sergio Perez Formula One World Championship career
| F1 Career | 2011–2024 |
|---|---|
| Teams | Sauber, McLaren, Force India, Racing Point, Red Bull Racing |
| Car number | 11 |
| Entries | 285 (281 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 6 |
| Podiums | 39 |
| Career points | 1638 |
| Pole positions | 3 |
| Fastest laps | 12 |
| First entry | 2011 Australian Grand Prix |
| First win | 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix |
| Last win | 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
Sergio Perez teammates
| Teammates | Involvement | First Year | Last Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kamui Kobayashi | 39 | 2011 | 2012 |
| Pedro de la Rosa | 1 | 2011 | |
| Esteban Gutierrez | 1 | 2012 | |
| Jenson Button | 19 | 2013 | |
| Nico Hulkenberg | 61 | 2014 | 2020 |
| Daniel Juncadella | 3 | 2014 | |
| Alfonso Celis | 9 | 2016 | 2017 |
| Esteban Ocon | 41 | 2017 | 2018 |
| George Russell | 2 | 2017 | |
| Nicholas Latifi | 5 | 2018 | |
| Lance Stroll | 37 | 2019 | 2020 |
| Max Verstappen | 90 | 2021 | 2024 |
| Jüri Vips | 1 | 2022 | |
| Liam Lawson | 1 | 2022 | |
| Isack Hadjar | 3 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Jake Dennis | 1 | 2023 |
Race Wins
| Win Number | Grand Prix |
|---|---|
| 1 | 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix |
| 2 | 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix |
| 3 | 2022 Monaco Grand Prix |
| 4 | 2022 Singapore Grand Prix |
| 5 | 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix |
| 6 | 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix |
Complete Formula One Results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Sauber F1 Team | Sauber C30 | Ferrari 056 2.4 V8 | AUS DSQ | MAL Ret | CHN 17 | TUR 14 | ESP 9 | MON DNS | CAN WD | EUR 11 | GBR 7 | GER 11 | HUN 15 | BEL Ret | ITA Ret | SIN 10 | JPN 8 | KOR 16 | IND 10 | ABU 11 | BRA 13 | 16th | 14 | |||||
| 2012 | Sauber F1 Team | Sauber C31 | Ferrari 056 2.4 V8 | AUS 8 | MAL 2 | CHN 11 | BHR 11 | ESP Ret | MON 11 | CAN 3 | EUR 9 | GBR Ret | GER 6 | HUN 14 | BEL Ret | ITA 2 | SIN 10 | JPN Ret | KOR 11 | IND Ret | ABU 15 | USA 11 | BRA Ret | 10th | 66 | ||||
| 2013 | Vodafone McLaren Mercedes | McLaren MP4-28 | Mercedes FO 108Z 2.4 V8 | AUS 11 | MAL 9 | CHN 11 | BHR 6 | ESP 9 | MON 16 † | CAN 11 | GBR 20 † | GER 8 | HUN 9 | BEL 11 | ITA 12 | SIN 8 | KOR 10 | JPN 15 | IND 5 | ABU 9 | USA 7 | BRA 6 | 11th | 49 | |||||
| 2014 | Sahara Force India F1 Team | Force India VJM07 | Mercedes PU106A Hybrid 1.6 V6 t | AUS 10 | MAL DNS | BHR 3 | CHN 9 | ESP 9 | MON Ret | CAN 11 † | AUT 6 | GBR 11 | GER 10 | HUN Ret | BEL 8 | ITA 7 | SIN 7 | JPN 10 | RUS 10 | USA Ret | BRA 15 | ABU 7 | 10th | 59 | |||||
| 2015 | Sahara Force India F1 Team | Force India VJM08 | Mercedes PU106B Hybrid 1.6 V6 t | AUS 10 | MAL 13 | CHN 11 | BHR 8 | ESP 13 | MON 7 | CAN 11 | AUT 9 | 9th | 78 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Sahara Force India F1 Team | Force India VJM08B | Mercedes PU106B Hybrid 1.6 V6 t | GBR 9 | HUN Ret | BEL 5 | ITA 6 | SIN 7 | JPN 12 | RUS 3 | USA 5 | MEX 8 | BRA 12 | ABU 5 | 9th | 78 | |||||||||||||
| 2016 | Sahara Force India F1 Team | Force India VJM09 | Mercedes PU106C Hybrid 1.6 V6 t | AUS 13 | BHR 16 | CHN 11 | RUS 9 | ESP 7 | MON 3 | CAN 10 | EUR 3 | AUT 17 † | GBR 6 | HUN 11 | GER 10 | BEL 5 | ITA 8 | SIN 8 | MAL 6 | JPN 7 | USA 8 | MEX 10 | BRA 4 | ABU 8 | 7th | 101 | |||
| 2017 | Sahara Force India F1 Team | Force India VJM10 | Mercedes M08 EQ Power+ 1.6 V6 t | AUS 7 | CHN 9 | BHR 7 | RUS 6 | ESP 4 | MON 13 | CAN 5 | AZE Ret | AUT 7 | GBR 9 | HUN 8 | BEL 17 † | ITA 9 | SIN 5 | MAL 6 | JPN 7 | USA 8 | MEX 7 | BRA 9 | ABU 7 | 7th | 100 | ||||
| 2018 | Sahara Force India F1 Team | Force India VJM11 | Mercedes M09 EQ Power+ 1.6 V6 t | AUS 11 | BHR 16 | CHN 12 | AZE 3 | ESP 9 | MON 12 | CAN 14 | FRA Ret | AUT 7 | GBR 10 | GER 7 | HUN 14 | 8th | 62 | ||||||||||||
| Racing Point Force India F1 Team | Force India VJM11 | Mercedes M09 EQ Power+ 1.6 V6 t | BEL 5 | ITA 7 | SIN 16 | RUS 10 | JPN 7 | USA 8 | MEX Ret | BRA 10 | ABU 8 | 8th | 62 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team | Racing Point RP19 | Mercedes M10 EQ Power+ 1.6 V6 t | AUS 13 | BHR 10 | CHN 8 | AZE 6 | ESP 15 | MON 12 | CAN 12 | FRA 12 | AUT 11 | GBR 17 | GER Ret | HUN 11 | BEL 6 | ITA 7 | SIN Ret | RUS 7 | JPN 8 | MEX 7 | USA 10 | BRA 9 | ABU 7 | 10th | 52 | |||
| 2020 | BWT Racing Point F1 Team | Racing Point RP20 | Mercedes M11 EQ Performance 1.6 V6 t | AUT 6 | STY 6 | HUN 7 | GBR WD | 70A | ESP 5 | BEL 10 | ITA 10 | TUS 5 | RUS 4 | EIF 4 | POR 7 | EMI 6 | TUR 2 | BHR 18† | SKH 1 | ABU Ret | 4th | 125 | |||||||
| 2021 | Red Bull Racing Honda | Red Bull Racing RB16B | Honda RA621H 1.6 V6 t | BHR 5 | EMI 11 | POR 4 | ESP 5 | MON 4 | AZE 1 | FRA 3 | STY 4 | AUT 6 | GBR 16 | HUN Ret | BEL 19 | NED 8 | ITA 5 | RUS 9 | TUR 3 | USA 3 | MXC 3 | SAP 4 | QAT 4 | SAU Ret | ABU 15† | 4th | 190 | ||
| 2022 | Oracle Red Bull Racing | Red Bull Racing RB18 | Red Bull RBPTH001 1.6 V6 t | BHR 18† | SAU 4 | AUS 2 | EMI 2 3 | MIA 4 | ESP 2 | MON 1 | AZE 2 | CAN Ret | GBR 2 | AUT Ret 5 | FRA 4 | HUN 5 | BEL 2 | NED 5 | ITA 6 | SIN 1 | JPN 2 | USA 4 | MXC 3 | SAP 7 5 | ABU 3 | 3rd | 305 | ||
| 2023 | Oracle Red Bull Racing | Red Bull Racing RB19 | Honda RBPTH001 1.6 V6 t | BHR 2 | SAU 1 | AUS 5 | AZE 1 1 | MIA 2 | MON 16 | ESP 4 | CAN 6 | AUT 3 2 | GBR 6 | HUN 3 | BEL 2 | NED 4 | ITA 2 | SIN 8 | JPN Ret | QAT 10 | USA 4 5 | MXC Ret | SAP 4 3 | LVG 3 | ABU 4 | 2nd | 285 | ||
| 2024 | Oracle Red Bull Racing | Red Bull Racing RB20 | Honda RBPTH002 1.6 V6 t | BHR 2 | SAU 2 | AUS 5 | JPN 2 | CHN 3 3 | MIA 4 3 | EMI 8 | MON Ret | CAN Ret | ESP 8 | AUT 7 8 | GBR 17 | HUN 7 | BEL 7 | NED 6 | ITA 8 | AZE 17† | SIN 10 | USA 7 | MXC 17 | SAP 11 8 | LVG 10 | QAT Ret | ABU Ret | 8th | 152 |
