Sergio Pérez
Mexican · 2011–2024, 2026–present
Photo: Marc Alvarado · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Pérez in numbers
1,638 official points · best championship finish: 2nd in 2023
0Drivers’ titles
none
2Constructors’ titles
2022, 2023
24th of 789 all time
2% of races
1% of races
13.1% of races
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
8.1% of races with Sauber
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
5.1% of races with Force India
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
2.8% of races with Racing Point
5.6% of races with Racing Point
0Drivers’ titles
none
2Constructors’ titles
2022, 2023
of 2 in the career
5.6% of races with Red Bull
3.3% of races with Red Bull
32.2% of races with Red Bull
0Drivers’ titles
none
0Constructors’ titles
none
Sergio "Checo" Pérez is the most successful Mexican driver in history and the main force behind Formula 1's huge revival in his country. The Guadalajara native built a reputation as a shrewd racer, brutally gentle on his tyres, at modest teams like Sauber and Force India, where he scored memorable podiums that seemed impossible with that machinery.
His big break came in 2020, when he won emotionally in Sakhir after spinning on the opening lap, a feat that opened Red Bull's doors. Alongside Verstappen he was a key part of the team's constructors' titles, with notable wins like Baku 2021, Monaco and Singapore 2022, and a unique ability to defend positions and protect his team-mate.
His final seasons at Red Bull, however, were marked by the enormous difficulty of matching Verstappen's pace, and at the end of 2024 he lost the seat. After a year away he returned in 2026 with Cadillac, the newest team on the grid, which wanted exactly that: a race specialist with fourteen seasons behind him. And he is still the driver who filled Mexican grandstands once again.
What if Pérez had another car?
We took his real attributes and put him in the best car of each era: in a real driver's seat, against the team-mate that car actually had. 20 full seasons in each.
| Car | Team-mate | Finish | Wins | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McLaren1988 | Alain Prost-114 pts | P2 | 1.6 | 0% |
| Williams1992 | Riccardo Patrese-12 pts | P2.5 | 4.1 | 10% |
| Ferrari2002 | Rubens Barrichello-4 pts | P1.7 | 7.4 | 35% |
| Red Bull2013 | Mark Webber+1 pts | P1.6 | 8.1 | 45% |
| Mercedes2016 | Lewis Hamilton-128 pts | P2 | 3 | 0% |
| Red Bull2023 | Himself, in 2023-10 pts | P1.5 | 10.4 | 50% |
| Cadillac2026 · 11th on the grid | Valtteri Bottas+12 pts | P10.6 | 0 | 0% |
The only one who beats him is Lewis Hamilton in the 2016 Mercedes: 128 points clear over a full season.
Ver en españolRating by season
- First season
- 72 2011
- Peak
- 80 2023
- 2026
- 75 Cadillac
15 seasons in the database, from 2011 to 2026. Our own rating, from 50 to 99.
Teams
Tags
Best year
2023
What would Sergio Pérez have achieved with a different car or in a different era?
Hypotheses featuring Sergio Pérez
Related drivers
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His team-mates
7 team-mates across 15 seasons. When both finished the race, Pérez was ahead in 80 of 214; on the grid he started ahead in 122 of 294.
| Year | Team-mate | In the race | On the grid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Kamui KobayashiSauber · 18 races | 4-7 | 9-8 |
| 2012 | Kamui KobayashiSauber · 20 races | 6-4 | 11-9 |
| 2013 | Jenson ButtonMcLaren · 19 races | 5-11 | 9-10 |
| 2014 | Nico HülkenbergForce India · 19 races | 7-7 | 8-11 |
| 2015 | Nico HülkenbergForce India · 19 races | 6-7 | 8-11 |
| 2016 | Nico HülkenbergForce India · 21 races | 8-8 | 9-12 |
| 2017 | Esteban OconForce India · 20 races | 11-6 | 13-7 |
| 2018 | Esteban OconForce India · 21 races | 5-9 | 6-15 |
| 2019 | Lance StrollRacing Point · 21 races | 13-3 | 18-2 |
| 2020 | Lance StrollRacing Point · 14 races | 4-4 | 9-5 |
| 2020 | Nico HülkenbergRacing Point · 1 race | 1-0 | 1-0 |
| 2021 | Max VerstappenRed Bull · 22 races | 0-16 | 2-16 |
| 2022 | Max VerstappenRed Bull · 22 races | 3-15 | 5-17 |
| 2023 | Max VerstappenRed Bull · 22 races | 2-18 | 3-19 |
| 2024 | Max VerstappenRed Bull · 24 races | 0-18 | 3-21 |
| 2026 | Valtteri BottasCadillac F1 Team · 17 races | 5-1 | 8-9 |
The first number is always Pérez's. A team-mate is whoever started the same race for the same team. "In the race" only counts races both finished, because a retirement says nothing about who was quicker. "On the grid" is the starting position, with penalties already applied.
Compare Pérez with another driver
Titles, wins, poles and podiums side by side, against any of the 789 drivers in history.
Keep reading
Where Sergio Pérez comes up in what we have measured, with our own numbers.
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- 8 min readEvery 2026 driver in every 2026 car: 24,200 seasons on how much the seat is worthWe put each 2026 driver in each 2026 car (242 combinations, 100 championships each) to settle the argument that comes round every year: is he slow,…