Perez Calls Red Bull Seat Alongside Verstappen the 'Worst Job in F1'
Sergio Perez calls his time as Max Verstappen's Red Bull teammate "the worst job in Formula 1." He claims the team was built around the Dutchman, creating a tense and impossible environment for a second driver.
Sergio Perez has labeled his four-season tenure as Max Verstappen's teammate at Red Bull Racing as "the worst job in Formula 1, by far." The Mexican driver, who was replaced by Liam Lawson for the 2025 season, revealed the immense pressure and "no-win" environment he faced within the team built around the four-time world champion.
Why it matters:
Perez's candid comments pull back the curtain on the internal dynamics of a dominant F1 team, challenging the narrative of a harmonious garage. It highlights the extraordinary difficulty of being the #2 driver to a generational talent like Verstappen, where the team's structure, strategy, and culture are entirely centered on one individual. This insight is crucial as Red Bull now navigates its future with a new driver lineup facing the same inherent challenges.
The details:
- A Pre-Defined Role: Perez stated that team principal Christian Horner was transparent from the start, telling him, "this project was created for Max; he's our talent." Perez accepted the role, intending to support the team and help develop the car.
- Initial Competitiveness: He claimed he was competitive with Verstappen at the beginning of the 2022 and 2023 seasons, particularly when the initial ground-effect cars' weight distribution suited his driving style.
- The 'No-Win' Scenario: The situation deteriorated as the car was updated. Perez described a toxic atmosphere where, "If I was faster, it was a problem, it created a very tense atmosphere; if I was slower than Max, it was a problem."
- He felt the team would "complain about everything" and deflect blame onto him for issues like a perceived lack of focus or too many commercial commitments.
Looking Ahead:
With his Red Bull chapter closed, Perez is set to begin a new era with the incoming Cadillac team in 2026. The spotlight now shifts to Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, who must navigate the same politically charged and high-pressure environment at Red Bull, fully aware of the structural advantages afforded to Verstappen.