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Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez biography

Sergio Perez Biography

Sergio Perez is a Mexican racing driver who made his debut in Formula 1 in 2011 with Sauber. Before entering F1, he had success in the British Formula 3 Championship and the GP2 series. He caught the attention of Sauber after finishing second in the GP2 championship in 2010.

StatisticNumber
World titles0
WC points1201
Races235
Victories4
Podium finishes26
Pole positions9

During his early years in Formula 1, Perez struggled to score points, but his talent and potential were recognized by Ferrari, who accepted him into their driver academy. Perez showed significant improvement in the 2012 season with Sauber, where he secured three podium finishes and battled with Fernando Alonso for victory in Malaysia.

F1 Career Stats
World titles0
Total WC points1201
Races participated235
Victories4
Podium finishes26
Pole positions9

After a year with McLaren in 2013, where he failed to perform up to expectations, Perez joined Force India, where he achieved consistent results and established himself as one of the most reliable drivers on the grid. He also saved the team from bankruptcy by helping to put it into administration when financial troubles arose.

Mexican advance

After winning the 2007 British Formula 3 Championship, Sergio Perez transitioned early to the GP2 series. The first season was challenging, but after he moved from Arden to Barwa Addax, where he was Giedo van der Garde’s teammate, the Mexican revealed his genuine potential. Though he failed to win the 2010 title, his second-place finish was sufficient to catch Sauber’s attention.

Debut in Formula 1

Sergio Perez took advantage of Nick Heidfeld’s departure from Sauber in 2011 and filled the vacancy. Prior to this, he also received great news from Ferrari, as he was accepted into the Ferrari Driver Academy. During his debut season in Formula 1, Perez struggled to score points but managed to earn the team’s trust.

This trust was rewarded in 2012, where Perez had an intense battle with Fernando Alonso in Malaysia, coming close to securing his first-ever win, but settled for second place. In the same season, he finished on the podium twice more.

Goodbye Ferrari, hello McLaren

Sergio Perez had to make a tough decision after his strong performance in 2012, which was whether to stay with Sauber as a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy or move to McLaren. He opted for the latter in 2013, but it turned out to be a costly choice.

Perez had a big task at hand as he replaced Lewis Hamilton at McLaren, which he tried to compensate for by driving aggressively due to the lack of speed of the McLaren car. However, the strategy did not work out well as he could only manage an 11th place in the championship and was heavily criticized.

Sergio Perez Goodbye McLaren, hello Force India

After his unsuccessful stint at McLaren, Perez returned to a new challenge at Force India in 2014, following Paul di Resta’s departure. Perez performed well during his first season, finishing in P6, and continued to improve in the following years, finishing in P5 in 2015 and even achieving a fourth place in the 2016 season.

In 2017, after his former teammate Nico Hülkenberg moved to Renault, Perez had to team up with Esteban Ocon. While the partnership was less smooth, the team was able to secure another fourth place in the constructors’ championship.

Sergio Perez saves Force India from destruction

During the period with Force India, Sergio Perez achieved five podium finishes. However, financial problems arose with team owner Vijay Mallya, and Perez himself helped save the team from bankruptcy by putting it into administration.

Lawrence Stroll (father of Lance Stroll) then took over the team, which completed the season under the name Racing Point. In 2019, Perez was joined by Lance Stroll, but despite a major investment, Racing Point failed to make the next step, and Perez’s performance was hindered. In 2020, Racing Point adopted Mercedes’ car design, and Perez was able to achieve two podium finishes and even won the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir.

At Red Bull Racing, Sergio Perez is partnered with Max Verstappen.

After Sergio Perez’s victory at the Sakhir Grand Prix, he was given the opportunity to replace Alexander Albon as Max Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull Racing for the 2021 season. Despite showing his speed and teamwork skills, Perez struggled to get used to the Red Bull car in the early part of the season. However, he showed improvements throughout the season and his defensive driving in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix played a key role in Verstappen winning the championship.

Sergio Perez in 2022

Sergio Perez’s 2022 season with Red Bull got off to a rough start as both he and teammate Max Verstappen suffered retirements at the season opener in Bahrain due to mechanical issues. Despite this, Perez continued to achieve a steady stream of points finishes in the following races and won his debut race of the season at the Monaco Grand Prix, which he described as a “dream come true”.

There were some setbacks, including DNFs in Canada and Austria, and Verstappen’s momentum in the World Championship standings looked strong. Although Verstappen eventually won the title, Perez claimed his second win of the season in Singapore and fought for second place with Charles Leclerc.

At the penultimate event in Brazil, there was some drama between Perez and Verstappen when the latter refused to let Perez pass him on the last lap. In the end, Leclerc secured P2 in the standings, but Perez finished with his best-ever championship result of P3 in Formula 1.

Sergio Perez in 2023

After extending his contract with Red Bull until the end of 2024, Sergio Perez is set to enter his third season as a driver for the team in 2023. The Mexican driver has expressed feeling more prepared and settled in at Red Bull, but Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has cast doubt on Perez’s ability to challenge Max Verstappen for the title in the upcoming season.

Sergio Perez biography Sergio Perez biography Sergio Perez biography Sergio Perez biography Sergio Perez biography

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