“It was a problem”: Sergio Perez opens up on being Max Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate, Red Bull star now gifts him a helmet

Sergio Perez has opened up about his time at Red Bull and what transpired between him and then team principal Christian Horner when he was replaced by Liam Lawson. Weeks before making a comeback to Formula 1 with the new team Cadillac, Perez said it was extremely difficult to be Max Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull, as one could neither be better nor worse than the four-time world champion within the team environment.Sergio Perez was released by Red Bull after the 2024 F1 season, with Liam Lawson named as his replacement. However, as Lawson failed to impress during his rookie campaign, he was subsequently replaced by another young driver, Yuki Tsunoda. Tsunoda, in turn, has now also been relieved of the seat alongside Max Verstappen for the 2026 season. Racing Bulls driver Isack Hadjar has now been handed the opportunity to partner Verstappen for the upcoming season.Perez spoke about this recurring cycle of driver changes at Red Bull while Max Verstappen continues to deliver consistently strong performances. Suggesting that the problem always lay everywhere except with Verstappen, Perez said during his appearance on the Cracks podcast, “If I was faster, it was a problem and it created a very tense atmosphere; if I was slower than Max, it was also a problem.” He even described being Verstappen’s teammate as the “worst job” in Formula 1.Throughout the 2025 season, Verstappen remained the only Red Bull driver regularly scoring points, narrowly missing out on his fifth World Championship by just two points.Revealing details of his conversation with Christian Horner at the time of his departure, Perez said, “I asked him, ‘What are you going to do when it doesn’t work out with Liam (Lawson)?’ He replied, ‘Well, there’s Yuki (Tsunoda).’ I then asked, ‘What are you going to do when it doesn’t work out with Yuki?’ He said, ‘We don’t have many drivers.’ I told him, ‘Well, you’re going to use them all,’ and he said, ‘Yes, I know.’”On New Year’s Day, Sergio Perez shared a series of pictures and videos offering fans a glimpse into his luxurious lifestyle. One of the images showed him posing alongside none other than Max Verstappen, with both drivers holding a Red Bull helmet together. The helmet was a gift from Verstappen and carried a message that read, “Thanks for being a great team-mate and friend.”Verstappen finally returned the favour to Checo and fulfilled a promise he had made earlier, after Perez had gifted him one of his own helmets with a heartfelt message written on it.Also read: Max Verstappen melts hearts as he plays beach volleyball and enjoys beach time with daughter Lily and Kelly Piquet in Brazil