Perez: “I was on the simulator while my son had pneumonia. I gave everything to Red Bull”

Strong bond You might think that Sergio Perez had his revenge in 2025: after being dropped by Red Bull at the end of the 2024 season for failing to keep up with Max Verstappen’s performances, the Mexican saw first Liam Lawson and then Yuki Tsunoda fail miserably in his own role, confirming that he was certainly not the problem of the Anglo-Austrian team. Now Checo will have the chance to prove his worth again at the wheel of Cadillac, the American team that will debut in F1 this year. Interviewed in a recent episode of the Cracks Podcast with Oso Trava, Perez returned to talk about his relationship with Red Bull, revealing that he is still on excellent terms with the team. “I gave everything to the team and Red Bull gave everything to me – explained Perez, who contributed to the team’s two Constructors’ titles, winning 5 GPs between 2021 and 2023 – I think both they and I are grateful to have worked together. I have an incredible relationship with everyone: I talk to Chalerm (Yoovidhya) once a week. This is life: in the end it’s based on results, but you always have to be grateful and I’m very grateful to Red Bull because it changed me life.” Emilio Perez’s pneumonia also mentioned a somewhat dramatic episode that occurred towards the end of the 2023 season, when the Mexican was playing for the ‘title’ of vice-world champion. Red Bull had never achieved a 1-2 in the Drivers’ standings at the end of the year and the objective was quite heartfelt in Milton Keynes: “Speaking from the outside is easy. When I was in Qatar fighting for second place with Hamilton, my son Emilio was in hospital with pneumonia. I would have been the first Red Bull driver to complete a first-second double in the championship. It was very important. I spoke to the doctor, I asked him: ‘How serious is it? Isn’t he at risk of dying?’ and then I spent the whole week in the simulator and the team was wondering, ‘What is this crazy guy doing here?’ It’s just an example of everything I’ve given to Red Bull. I was so successful in the circumstances I was in because I gave it my all,” Perez said proudly.