Sergio Perez has described the mental pressure of racing beside Max Verstappen. The Mexican drove for Red Bull from 2021 through 2024. He said the comparison followed every session and result. Perez discussed the experience on the High Performance podcast.
Perez accepted that Red Bull’s project was centred on Verstappen. He also said support for the second driver had limits inside that structure. During the difficult period, the team encouraged him to work with a psychologist. Perez agreed, although he felt the problem involved more than his mindset.
Four seasons in the same garage
Perez joined Red Bull for the 2021 season and stayed for four years. Verstappen won the drivers’ championship in every one of those seasons. Perez won five grands prix for the team and finished second in the 2023 championship. The partnership produced strong results and constant comparison.
The two drivers did not receive identical public expectations. Verstappen was the established title leader, while Perez was judged against his pace. A difficult qualifying session often became a wider debate about the second seat. Perez said that cycle created heavy mental pressure.
Perez’s Red Bull years also contained major success. He won five Grands Prix for the team and finished second in the 2023 drivers’ championship. His defence against Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi in 2021 helped Verstappen remain close before the final restart. Those moments explain why the later decline cannot be reduced to a claim that Perez never contributed.
Perez understood the team’s priority
Perez said he knew what project he was joining. Red Bull had built its recent success around Verstappen. The Dutch driver had long experience with the car and team. Perez did not claim that this basic priority surprised him after signing.
His criticism was more specific. He felt the organisation could support him only to a certain point while protecting its central direction. That distinction matters. Accepting Verstappen’s status did not remove the personal difficulty of competing beside him.
The comparison became harsher in 2024. Perez scored 152 points and ended the championship in eighth place. Verstappen won the title with 437 points, creating a gap of 285. Red Bull also lost the constructors’ championship after two years at the top. The numbers do not diagnose the cause, but they show why every difficult session attracted attention.
Why he spoke with a psychologist
Red Bull encouraged Perez to seek outside psychological support during his poor run. He agreed partly to show the team that he was taking every available step. Perez said the meetings had value. He also believed they could not solve a wider sporting situation alone.
The current grid now turns toward the form guide before the Belgian Grand Prix.
Perez said the sessions helped in some areas, but did not remove every problem he felt at Red Bull. He presented them as one part of his response to the pressure. The private content of the sessions has not been disclosed.
Perez said he accepted psychological support during that period. He described it as one of the steps he took while trying to recover his form. He also felt the sporting problem was wider than his mindset alone. The details of those private sessions have not been made public.
| Signal | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Red Bull period | 2021-2024 |
| Perez wins for Red Bull | Five grands prix |
| Current team | Cadillac, 2026 |
The results became harder in 2024
Perez began 2024 with several podium finishes but his form later fell sharply. He finished eighth in the championship while Verstappen won the title. Red Bull also lost the constructors’ championship. The team and Perez ended their agreement after the season.
Those results explain the pressure behind his comments. They do not prove that one cause produced every poor weekend. Car balance, qualifying, confidence and competition all formed part of the season. Perez’s podcast comments describe the human side of that decline.
Cadillac gives Perez a different comparison in 2026. The team are new to Formula 1, and his experience can support their early development. That does not erase the Red Bull period. It places it in a completed chapter from which he can speak with distance. Results for Cadillac will form a new record under different expectations.
A year outside the grid
Perez did not race in Formula 1 during 2025. The break gave him distance from the Red Bull environment and regular comparison with Verstappen. He has since returned with Cadillac for the team’s first Formula 1 season in 2026.
Cadillac places him in a different role. He brings long experience to a new operation rather than joining an established champion’s team. The current season will shape the next part of his record. His Red Bull comments remain a reflection on the previous chapter.
His record at Red Bull remains mixed
Perez helped Red Bull secure constructors’ titles and supported Verstappen in important races. He also won in Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, Monaco and Singapore during the partnership. Later results fell below the level required by the team.
Both parts belong in the same account. The pressure did not remove his victories, and the victories did not erase the difficult finish. Perez now explains how the environment felt from his seat. That perspective adds context without changing the official results.
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