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The contemporary verdict on Sergio Perez is possibly not the best one. The Mexican has been through the ringer as a teammate of Max Verstappen and it does appear that he's a spent force in the Red Bull right now. The consistency and ruthlessness of a talent like Verstappen's can leave the best drivers in the lurch these days.
That and the pressure to perform at Red Bull have not been ideal for Perez, as he finds himself in a position where he's clearly not even performing at the foundational level he used to. Adding all this up, what we have is a perception in the eyes of many that he is just not good enough to be in F1.
The reality is just not the same, as Perez has been in F1 for over a decade and has a resume with multiple races that would rank him among some of the best in the sport. In this feature, we take a look back at the career of the Mexican and some of the drives that serve as a reminder of how good a talent he is.
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#1 2012 F1 Malaysian GP (Sergio Perez almost wins the race in a Sauber)
Sergio Perez debuted in F1 in 2011 with Sauber, a team that was a perennial midfield contender. He was a Ferrari junior at the time, and the Italian team placed him in the Swiss squad to evaluate how good he could be.
After a decent rookie season in 2011, the Mexican took another step in terms of performance, which was evident in his performance in Malaysia. On a wet track where key contenders like Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel made mistakes, it was Perez who surged out of nowhere with not only perfect strategy but performance to match it.
At one point, he was chasing down Fernando Alonso, who was also putting together a heroic effort. In the end, even though he fell short of winning, Perez turned heads as he showed that he was something special in the car. The young Mexican had to be happy with a P2 finish, but surprised everyone with a result that was unexpected in a Sauber.
#2 2012 F1 Italian GP (Beats both Ferraris in Monza)
Ferrari's home race is one where the elites of the team stand up. It was thus a surprise for far too many people when a certain Mexican surged through the field in the second half of the race.
The 2012 F1 season saw Sergio Perez first show an innate ability to preserve his tires in the first half of the race to then make use of the fresh tires later in the stint. He did the same thing in Monza, where he first overtook Ferrari's second driver, Felipe Massa, for P3 in the race.
What followed was multiple laps of hounding the Italian team's lead driver Fernando Alonso and then overtaking him on the track to secure P2. It was an interesting result because, at the time, Perez was still a Ferrari junior, and with him beating the two drivers from the senior team on the track, he only strengthened his case as a talent for the future.
#3 2016 F1 European GP (Podium in a Force India)
Unlike the current era, the turbo hybrid era was a completely different ecosystem. At the time, unless you were from a Ferrari, Red Bull or the all-conquering Mercedes, a podium was going to be tough. Force India during this time was a strong midfield team. It would continue to get decent results with both Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg.
However, the first race at Baku was where Perez somehow found the sweet spot with the car. The driver overcame a grid penalty as well prior to the race to secure a podium on merit and even overtook the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen en route to the result.
This was a case of the driver being at one with the car and producing a result that one does not expect from the machinery.
#4 2020 F1 Sakhir GP (First career win coming through the field)
The 2020 F1 season will be remembered as the year Lewis Hamilton won his seventh title. It would also be remembered as the year of Pink Mercedes. This was the season when Racing Point (now called Aston Martin) would bring a car that would look eerily similar to the car that dominated the 2019 F1 season (Mercedes).
As it turned out, the car was very competitive and secured multiple podiums. During the F1 Sakhir GP race weekend, Sergio Perez had already found out that he would be leaving Racing Point. Lawrence Stroll had signed Sebastian Vettel for 2021 and that left Perez in a position where he was driving for his career.
The race in Sakhir was the perfect storm. Suffering damage on the first lap and then making his way through the field to win his first career race, Perez used the race to secure a seat at Red Bull and hence vindicate his career.
#5 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP (Beats Max Verstappen in a straight fight)
There aren't many drivers in F1 who can claim that they have beaten Max Verstappen in a straight fight. Well, Sergio Perez can make that claim, and he did so in 2023 when he beat his Red Bull teammate in a straight fight. The race was much earlier in the season and at the time, Verstappen had still not adapted completely to the car.
Baku continues to be Perez's favorite track and he showed how impressive he can be around the track when he was fortunate to get the lead due to a safety car. From that point on, the driver outpaced Verstappen and cruised to a win.
