Cadillac F1 chief confirms Sergio Perez 'an option' for American team

Sergio Perez, Checo Perez, Red Bull, United States, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Cadillac F1 chief confirms Sergio Perez 'an option' for American team

Sergio Perez left Red Bull at the end of 2024

By Dan Ripley.

Tuesday 1 April 2025 04:00

Cadillac Formula 1 advisor Mario Andretti has confirmed the team are considering Sergio Perez for one of their seats on the grid next season.

Perez was fired by Red Bull at the end of 2024, replaced by Liam Lawson after a season of chronic underperformance that allowed both McLaren and Ferrari to beat the team in the constructors' championship.

However, Perez's F1 stock has been given an unexpected boost with the Kiwi struggling alongside Max Verstappen, too. So much so that Lawson has been replaced after just two races for Yuki Tsunoda.

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This has led to some starting to revise their opinions over Perez's final season at Red Bull and now, at the age of 35, he could make a shock return to the pinnacle of motorsport with the new Cadillac team for 2026.

Cadillac could rescue Perez's F1 career

“Well, I wish I could tell you, but this is something we keep secret ourselves because we don't want to raise hopes in some areas where it might not happen," Andretti told the Spanish edition of ESPN.

"But the second driver, the second seat, will definitely be an experienced driver who might be available. And we all know that the selection in that regard is quite clear.

"There may be three drivers to choose from. Three drivers, realistically, to choose from. And I'm not going to tell you which ones."

But when pressed on whether Checo was under consideration, Andretti said: “It’s an option. It could be an option. Of course. All I can say is that Liam Lawson is making Checo look very, very good,"

“[Yuki] Tsunoda, you know, I think he probably deserved that seat more than Liam. But who am I?”

Red Bull Max Verstappen Ferrari McLaren Sergio Perez Yuki Tsunoda