F1 star admits needing break after losing motivation

Max Verstappen, Sergio Checo Perez, Red Bull, Qatar, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Off the Track

F1 star admits needing break after losing motivation

Sergio Perez has taken a year out of the sport

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 18 November 2025 11:54 Updated: 16:56

Sergio Perez has revealed that he needed his break from F1, after 'demotivation' started to creep in during the end of his time with Red Bull.

When Red Bull announced that they would be axing Perez and replacing him with Liam Lawson, the Mexican revealed that he would take a sabbatical from the sport, with no other viable option on the grid for a seat.

He dropped away from F1 completely, not even completing reserve driver or punditry duties in 2025.

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However, in 2026, Perez will be back with a bang, as he has been signed to the new Cadillac team, taking up one of their full-time seats alongside current Mercedes reserve driver Valtteri Bottas.

Now, the six-time race winner has revealed his reasons for completely stepping away from the sport at the end of the 2024 season.

"I didn't feel at the time [but I needed the break]," he told F1’s official website.

"When you are in the sport, you are carried away with the fact that you are always thinking about your next year, your next race, your next contract. It's like you are in automatic mode. But once you are forced to step out of it like I was, you realise a lot of things and you see the sport different.

"You have to remember that my last six months at Red Bull were very difficult for myself in all areas.

"I started to have a bit of demotivation with the sport and I cannot let that happen because this is a sport that gave me everything.

"The day that I leave the sport, I want to leave it with a big smile and a lot of respect because the sport has given me everything."

Why was Perez axed by Red Bull?

After four seasons in which he helped Max Verstappen claim drivers' championship success at Red Bull as well as claiming two constructors' titles with the team, Red Bull's decision to axe Perez may have come as a surprise to some.

But, his performances at the back end of 2023 and for the majority of 2024 were not up to scratch, and the team opted to cut his contract short, despite having given him a new deal at the beginning of 2024 after a brilliant start to that season.

Ultimately, his run of 13 points from the final nine race weekends of last year saw Red Bull slip to third in the constructors' standings, and the team's decision was made.

Nevertheless, the struggles of Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda alongside Verstappen this season has seen Perez's stock rise once more in the sport, and led Cadillac to snap him up for their first season in F1.

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F1 Sergio Perez Cadillac