Marco Rossi · F1 Correspondent
With his 300th Grand Prix, Sergio Pérez joins one of the smallest clubs in Formula 1 history, and he does it in front of his home crowd in Mexico City.
Sergio Pérez contests his 300th Formula 1 race at the 2026 Mexico City Grand Prix at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez. For the Mexican driver it is a milestone only six drivers have reached before him, and it comes in the year Pérez returned to the sport with a brand-new team after a sabbatical year.
A club with seven members
Pérez made his debut for Sauber at the 2011 Australian Grand Prix and has since driven for McLaren, Force India, Racing Point and Red Bull Racing before landing at Cadillac in 2026. With six wins, 39 podiums, three pole positions and the runner-up spot in 2023, he is the most successful Mexican driver in history, and with his 300th Grand Prix he now joins an even more exclusive circle: before him, only Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Räikkönen, Rubens Barrichello, Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button reached that mark.
How tough Pérez can be was already on display at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix: after a first-lap collision he dropped to the back of the field, then fought his way forward to the win. He went on to claim five more Grand Prix victories with Red Bull Racing. Comebacks like that have become a hallmark of his career over the years and explain why, for many observers, his 300th race is more than just a round number.
A comeback after a year away
After parting ways with Red Bull at the end of 2024, Pérez took a sabbatical year before returning in 2026 with a completely new team: Cadillac F1, General Motors' new American team, which makes its Formula 1 debut this season with Ferrari engines. Alongside Valtteri Bottas, Pérez takes on a role there that goes well beyond driving, serving as the experienced figurehead of a project with no history of its own in the sport.
A fresh start with a team carrying no baggage is likely to feel like a second chance for Pérez, after years in which he stood in the shadow of a dominant teammate at Red Bull. That this new chapter coincides with his 300th Grand Prix gives the milestone an extra touch.
A celebration for Mexico City
To kick off the anniversary week, Cadillac scheduled a show run with Pérez on Wednesday, October 28, on the Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City's central boulevard. It is the team's first public appearance in Mexico. On Tuesday, Pérez had already unveiled his special helmet for his 300th race: white, with pre-Hispanic motifs, the Cadillac logo on top and the number 300 on the sides.
Ahead of the weekend, Pérez stressed how emotional it is for him to celebrate this milestone in front of his home crowd after all the highs and lows of his career. He also explained his return with a sense of responsibility toward the fans: the sport had grown so much in Mexico that it was not only about him. For a driver whose career has been written off time and again only to carry on, this home race is more than a number on paper. It is the provisional high point of a story that now writes its next chapter in his home country of Mexico.
