Sergio Perez insists F1 legend Lewis Hamilton would FAIL at Red Bull

Lewis Hamilton, Red Bull, socials — Photo: © IMAGO

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Sergio Perez insists Lewis Hamilton would FAIL at Red Bull

Sergio Perez is well placed to assess the struggles of being Max Verstappen's team-mate

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Monday 27 October 2025 21:11

F1 star Sergio Perez has delivered a confident prediction over how a move to Red Bull would pan out for seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton.

Perez raced at Red Bull between 2021-2024, where he fulfilled the role of a reliable number two to star driver Max Verstappen.

Whilst the Dutchman secured the drivers' title for every year that the pair were team-mates, Perez managed to go three seasons without finishing outside the top four in the drivers' standings.

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2023 marked the height of Red Bull's dominance, as Verstappen regained the crown, Perez finished runner-up, and the Milton Keynes-based outfit obliterated the competition in the constructors' championship, winning with well over double the points of closest competitor Mercedes.

But the following year, Perez began to falter and when he wound up down in eighth in the drivers' standings at the end of the season, his time with Red Bull, and in F1 altogether, came to an end.

Could Hamilton handle being Verstappen's team-mate?

Perez has now been handed a lifeline after spending a season out of the championship and will return to the grid next season with Cadillac.

In a feature with Sky F1's Karun Chandhok ahead of this year's Mexican Grand Prix, Perez reflected on his struggles at Red Bull, insisting that even Hamilton would struggle to pilot a car that has been tuned to Verstappen's unique driving style.

"The minute I signed my exit with Red Bull when we came to an agreement, I knew that, ‘poor guy who comes here'," Perez said.

"Being next to Max is very difficult but being next to Max in Red Bull, it’s something people don’t understand. There’s so many things I could tell you but it’s simply just a very difficult job for a driver.

"There is no driver that can survive there, it doesn’t matter if you bring Hamilton or Leclerc. Whoever you bring there is going to struggle massively.

"It’s a very unique driving style, you have to constantly be adapting to the needs of Max, simple as that."

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F1 Red Bull Lewis Hamilton Sergio Perez