Sergio Perez makes damning admission about the 'Max Verstappen project' at Red Bull

Sergio Perez reflected on his time at Red Bull and how the team operated during his time. The Mexican, who is testing with Cadillac ahead of the 2026 season, said that the Red Bull programme was built around Max Verstappen, and the second cockpit was never meant to be equal.

Perez spent five seasons alongside Verstappen and has been one of the longest-serving occupants of Red Bull’s second seat in the modern era. That car has cycled through Daniil Kvyat, Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Alexander Albon, Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda, and now Isack Hadjar, and Perez said that the explanation was simple: the car and the programme were designed for Verstappen.

“I knew from day one that we had to be clever,” Perez told Motorsport.total. “I knew my role and knew that this project was designed for Verstappen. When I arrived, I made them nervous, but I was aware that there were many interests at play and I couldn't go against the system.”

The competitive imbalance of the team gets reflected clearly in the numbers. Over that span, Red Bull took 80 race wins, with Max Verstappen accounting for 71 of them. Perez contributed five victories, while Ricciardo added four. The Mexican added that leaving Red Bull proved beneficial for him.

“What happened with Red Bull was ultimately the best thing that could have happened to me. Under the conditions I was in, it was extremely challenging to be there... I had to be smart and think long-term. If you look at how things have developed: drivers don't last long, and today nobody even remembers that they had a second driver.”

Sergio Perez argued that the car’s development repeatedly favored Verstappen’s particular driving characteristics, a setup that rewarded a unique ability to manage a loose rear end and extract performance where others struggled. That design preference made it difficult for teammates to influence development direction or to sustain consistent results.

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez before the 2024 F1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan. Source: Getty

Former advisor Helmut Marko has previously acknowledged Verstappen’s sensitivity to rear instability and his ability to drive through it, which made him overshadow Perez. The Mexican also paid tribute to Verstappen’s talent and dominance, predicting that Verstappen would go down as one of the sport’s all-time greats.

The gap has only widened since Sergio Perez’s exit. In 2025, Yuki Tsunoda scored just 30 points compared to Verstappen’s 421. By contrast, Perez’s lowest return during his Red Bull years came in 2024, when he still amassed 140 points.

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Sergio Perez takes a swipe at Red Bull second seat amid Cadillac preparations

Yuki Tsunoda and Sergio Perez before the 2023 F1 Grand Prix of Austria. Source: Getty

Sergio Perez completed an Imola test in a two-year-old Ferrari SF-23 under an agreement between Cadillac and Ferrari. He ran 57 laps across low-intensity stints, focused on pit-stop practice, installation checks, and operational routines. His best lap that day was 1:19.17.

Even while preparing for his return, Perez has also kept an eye on on-track behavior from afar. He drew attention to a moment late in the 2025 season when Yuki Tsunoda failed to hold position under pressure in Abu Dhabi. Perez reposted a Thanos-daughter “perhaps I treated you too harshly” meme on X and wrote:

“Perhaps 🤣”

Tsunoda eventually lost the seat as Red Bull again reshuffled drivers and brought in rookie Isack Hadjar for 2026, while the Japanese driver stays in a reserve role.

Edited by Hitesh Nigam