“To me, what was most important was to get an opportunity where I could really be at my 100%, otherwise it was not really worth it to me.”Īn uncertain future didn’t stop 2020 from being Pérez’s best F1 season to date, including a wild win in Bahrain that saw him go from last place at the start to first at the checkered flag. “I’d been in those midfield battles for so many years,” he said. At the end of 2020, the team (now branded Aston Martin) ended Pérez’s contract.Īt that point in his 30s, Pérez made peace with the idea that his F1 career could be over. The team was rescued by a consortium led by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, who wanted his son Lance in one seat and a statement signing - four-time champ Sebastian Vettel - in the other. “It wasn’t nice to end up in that position.” “I ended up doing things that were much beyond a racing driver,” he said. It was his decision to pull the trigger on legal action in a move to help save the team. Pérez was among its creditors, owed money from the previous year. The good vibes there ended when Force India entered administration (akin to bankruptcy) in the face of mounting debts. He established himself as a midfield leader, more often than not being the driver who capitalized when the front-runners slipped up. He went into a surprise slump, got dropped after a single year, and landed with Force India.īack in the midfield, Pérez rediscovered his form. He couldn’t get the best out of the troublesome car, and filling Hamilton’s shoes was impossible. His arrival coincided with the start of McLaren’s fall from being a front-running team. When Lewis Hamilton left McLaren for Mercedes, the British team tagged Pérez as his replacement. Pérez got his big break in his sophomore season in 2012, when three podium finishes for midfield team Sauber caught the eyes of F1’s top players. It’s a thesis based on a career’s worth of evidence. At the end of the day, it’s what you need to be in Formula 1.” But the hardships that led him there were more than prelude. After two years there, he moved into the big leagues with Sauber, ending Mexico’s 30-year wait for an F1 driver. Pérez’s performances put him on the path to graduate to GP2, the final stepping stone to F1. “They really treated me like their son,” he said. “It was mainly about surviving.”Īfter a tough two years, Pérez moved to England to race in British Formula 3 with a team that signed Pérez that made him feel at home. He didn’t speak any German and his English wasn’t great. Homesickness was the biggest challenge, and he spent a lot of time alone. He lived above a restaurant owned by the manager of the team he raced for in Germany’s Formula BMW series, an entry-level single-seater series. His first taste of Europe had none of glamor we associate with F1. “To go out and fight for your dreams, it was a massive thing. “It was really big, to leave everything behind as a 14-year-old,” Pérez told The Athletic. Although he had financial support from Escuderia Telmex, a racing scheme for Mexican drivers supported by telecom giant Carlos Slim, it was a difficult decision to make. But after impressing through his go-karting career, he set his sights on F1, drawn by the series’ exotic nature. Growing up, Pérez, known by his nickname “Checo,” saw most Mexican drivers racing in Ind圜ar. He is not going to give it anything less than 100%, and he won’t settle for second. It all formed a mental fortitude that, even nearing the closing stages of his time in F1, has prepared him to play a role in which nobody has yet succeeded. He has had contracts terminated, gotten tangled in legal battles and lost a well-earned place on the grid. He fought his way to reach F1, only to see his dream with a top team end after a single year. He gave up everything at a young age, leaving all he knew behind in Mexico. But Pérez comes to the role with more than talent. Plenty of aspiring drivers have had their careers derailed by the challenge. In a sport where your teammate tends to double as your chief rival, driving alongside Verstappen - who’s now gunning for his third straight championship - is no easy thing. I think I’m getting closer every single session.” “Finishing second is the maximum I could do today,” he says. Which area is it you still need to work on most to try and get closer to Max and beat him?” Follow live coverage of the Saudi Arabian Grand PrixĪfter being asked about the team’s strong start, Pérez soon gets the question that has never been far from the surface in his three years alongside Verstappen: “But of course you are also a fighter and you want to win. The teammates are in good spirits, having kicked off what looks like another dominant season for Red Bull. “I’ve been here for like 10 minutes!” Pérez replies, then laughs. “Are you warming up the couch?” Verstappen, the race winner, has arrived.
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