Sergio Pérez, born on 26 January 1990 in Guadalajara, began karting at six and moved to Germany at fifteen to pursue his single-seater career. After winning the national class of British Formula 3 (2007) and finishing runner-up in the 2010 GP2 Series, he made his Formula 1 debut for Sauber in 2011, the first Mexican driver in 30 years.
In 2012 he had his best season to that point with three podiums and stood on the Formula 1 podium in Malaysia as the first Mexican since Pedro Rodríguez in 1970. After spells at McLaren and Force India, later Racing Point, he took his first win at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, a spectacular recovery from last place after a first-lap collision and the first win by a Mexican driver in 50 years.
In 2021 Pérez moved to Red Bull Racing alongside Max Verstappen and helped him to his first world title with a memorable defensive drive against Lewis Hamilton at the season finale in Abu Dhabi. After his first pole position in 2022 in Saudi Arabia (on his 215th attempt) and a win in Monaco, he finished runner-up in the 2023 Drivers’ Championship, his best career result to date. Following a weaker 2024, the two sides parted ways at the end of the season.
After a year away, “Checo” Pérez, still the most successful Mexican Formula 1 driver with six wins and 39 podiums, returned to Formula 1 in 2026 alongside Valtteri Bottas as the driver pairing for the new Cadillac team.
Sergio Pérez in the News