Checo Perez Opens Up With Candid Remarks on Verstappen, Horner and Red Bull Dynamic

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Sergio “Checo” Perez has offered a frank reflection on his time as Max Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull Racing, describing it as the most difficult role in modern Formula 1 and claiming the team’s structure was overwhelmingly centred on Verstappen’s success.

Perez explained that during his four seasons with the Milton Keynes squad (2021–2024), he often felt caught in a no-win situation because every performance level seemed to create issues, whether he was faster or slower than his champion colleague. He claimed this environment made his job uniquely challenging and said the entire project appeared to have been built around Verstappen from the beginning — a sentiment reportedly echoed by former team principal Christian Horner when Perez first joined.

The Mexican driver also suggested that as Red Bull’s aerodynamic and upgrade direction increasingly favoured Verstappen’s style, his own balance and confidence in the car diminished, leading to tougher races and a loss of rhythm. He said that even improvements to the package could sometimes work against his driving, forcing him to focus on damage-limitation rather than aggressive progress on track.

Perez’s words highlight the intense internal pressures of racing alongside a four-time world champion, where marginal performance gaps are magnified and team focus can be sharply concentrated on one driver. Now set to return to the grid with Cadillac for the 2026 season after a sabbatical in 2025, Perez’s candid remarks offer insight into the interpersonal and technical dynamics that shaped his final years at Red Bull.