After 283 Grand Prix races, six wins, 39 podiums and three pole positions, Sergio “Checo” Pérez doesn’t have anything left to prove when it comes to his Formula 1 racing career.
But that didn’t stop the Mexican motorsport star from returning this season as the face of the new Cadillac Formula 1 Team. Although the team has gotten off to a mediocre start, Pérez believes it’s possible for the team to actually make a mark in its first season, and he’s determined to do his part to make that happen.
Over the course of his 15-year career, Pérez has raced for Sauber, McLaren, Force India/Racing Point and Red Bull. His exit after four years from the Red Bull team, where he served in a supporting role to world champion Max Verstappen, didn’t end well. Although he said all the right things when the contract was voided, he told ESPN in January that being Verstappen’s teammate was “the worst job there is in Formula 1.”
That led to a year’s hiatus from racing before being lured back by the Cadillac Formula 1 Team.
“I felt that I had unfinished business in my sport,” he said. “At the end of the day, I’ve given everything to the sport. And I felt the way that it ended with Red Bull didn’t really show my talent. I needed to show to myself that I am the great driver that I always thought and that I will leave the sport on my terms and when I decide to do it.”
In his first three races with the Cadillac Formula 1 Team, Pérez finished 16th in Australia in round one, 15th in China in round two, and 17th in Japan — results that have been called “respectable” by F1 followers.
But he has high hopes and big expectations for the rest of the season. “We are pushing flat out — and I’m pushing flat out on all fronts for the team,” he said. “I really hope that soon we can start to fight for points with the midfield group. That will be amazing.”
The “we” in that sentence refers to his new teammate, Valtteri Bottas. The Finnish driver has won 10 Grand Prix races in his 13 seasons, twice finishing as the runner-up in the World Drivers’ Championship.
“He’s a great guy,” Pérez said. “He’s very experienced and very fast — one of the most successful drivers we currently have in the sport. So it’s a great challenge for me and a great motivation to be his teammate.”
Pérez has had a lot of teammates over the course of his career. He started racing karts at the age of 6 and was the youngest champion in the junior category. At 14, he moved to Europe to compete in Formula BMW ADAC before joining Formula 1 in 2011, the first Mexican driver to be added to the tour in 30 years.
But the sport has changed dramatically since he started.
“It’s a very different Formula 1 these days with the electric units that nobody understands — but that is what I enjoy: the competition and the work with my team to try to move forward to grid and that sort of challenge.”
Pérez said his favorite races on the circuit are in his home country of Mexico as well as the U.S., especially Miami. “I enjoy that a lot, it’s amazing,” he said of the Florida race, slated for May 1-3.
The overall season runs through December and includes 22 races around the globe — everywhere from Monaco and Barcelona to Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Singapore and Azerbaijan.
As a married father of four, Pérez said his family will often travel to races with him. “I cannot take them to all the races, so sometimes I will take them other places,” he said. “We just like to spend time together.”
He said he constantly strives to be the best family man and the best racecar driver he can. “You have to give your best at everything,” he believes. “If I’m working with my team, I focus on that. If I’m with my kids and my wife, I focus on them to try to be the best possible husband, the best possible dad. And when I’m in my business, I try to be the best entrepreneur I can be. When I’m at the track, I try to be the most professional I can be. I always try to maximize everything.”
Juggling all that can lead to a lot of stress and Pérez has been open about his past mental health struggles. During his time at Red Bull, he hired a mental health coach/psychologist to help him navigate the pressures of a professional racing career while balancing his personal life.
“It was a very difficult environment and I needed some professional help,” he said. But he stressed that no one should hesitate to reach out if they’re struggling, regardless of their circumstances. “Don’t ever be ashamed to ask for help if you feel you need it,” he said.
In addition to his mental health, Pérez also has to stay in top physical condition. He said he runs, cycles, does both strength and endurance training and practices in a simulator. “You have to be very, very fit and train every day,” he said.
When he’s not racing, his number-one activity is to spend time with his family and friends. And he also likes to hit the links whenever he can, although he admits that his scoring, which can range from 10 to 25 over par is “very inconsistent.”
Perhaps once he retires from the sport, he can spend more time working on his golf game. But when that will happen is not clear right now.
“That’s a good question,” said the 36-year-old. “I’ll keep going as long as I enjoy it and I don’t have to miss too much time with my family. The kids are getting to the ages where I want to be with them. So whenever I feel it’s enough, it will be enough. It’s very hard to say, but it won’t be five years.”
His kids are 8, 6, 3 and 1, and the three oldest have begun to follow in his footsteps. “We go karting together on the weekends,” he said. “They enjoy it and I can see my oldest is very talented. But for now, it’s just a way to be together.”
This is one way for Pérez to feel like a normal dad, especially in a country where he is a superstar. But he shrugs off his fame, saying: “I’m a character. A lot of people see me or know me because of the driving, but when this finishes, I will just be a normal person. And I will be very happy with that.
“I became a Formula 1 driver, not for the fame, but because I love the sport,” he added. “The day I retire, I will be very happy to live away from the spotlight, because it’s not my thing. I respect that it might be very important to other people, but it’s not for me.”
Even so, that fame has afforded him the opportunity to start a charity, the Checo Pérez Foundation, a nonprofit that “helps the least privileged kids in Mexico,” he said. “It’s doing well, but it requires a lot of time and money.”
It also brought him to Tommy Hilfiger, which signed a multiyear partnership with Cadillac Formula 1 Team last June to be the official apparel partner and lifestyle sponsor. In December, the apparel brand brought Pérez on board as its newest global menswear ambassador. And the cars also sport Tommy Hilfiger branding.
Dan Towriss, chief executive officer of Cadillac Formula 1 Team Holdings, believes the time is right for the U.S. to make its mark on the sport. Towriss, who also holds the CEO post at Group 1001, an insurance and financial services firm with $66 billion in assets, said: “Formula 1 represents innovation on the largest stage possible, and for a long time, the United States didn’t really have a seat at that table. My involvement stems from a desire to see American ingenuity compete at the absolute pinnacle of global motorsport.”
He said that by creating an entirely new team, the company was able to build its dream from scratch. “By starting with a clean sheet of paper, we’ve ensured that every part of this team’s DNA is purpose-built for our vision,” he explained. “When you buy an existing team, you inherit their way of doing things and a ‘This is how we’ve always done it’ mentality. We wanted to create our own way of doing things — blending the best of European racing tradition with the speed and innovation of American manufacturing and expertise. We aren’t just another name on an existing chassis; we are a true American constructor. From the culture in the garage to the way we collaborate with General Motors, we are doing things differently because we had the courage to start from zero.”
Even so, Towriss is realistic about the Cadillac Formula 1 Team’s chances in its debut season. “In Formula 1, nothing is given and everything is earned. We are realistic about the challenge; we started from nothing, didn’t buy an existing team, and are jumping in against giants. Right now, our focus is on making progress every single session. We aren’t setting unreasonable public expectations but there is an intense push to see how quickly we can keep progressing.”
And he believes he’s got the right drivers to make a mark.
“We specifically chose Valtteri and Checo because you cannot build a program of this scale without proven veteran leadership,” he said. “Between them, they have over 500 starts and more than 100 podiums — that experience is critical for our engineers as we develop the car. They bring a winning pedigree and they know what a winning car feels like. Our job is to provide them with a machine that matches their talent. They aren’t just here to drive; they are here to help us build a culture of winning from the ground up.”
So what’s left on Pérez’s bucket list before he drives off into the sunset?
“In the sport, my main target is to make Cadillac a proper, established F1 team in the grid. That’s my main challenge and my main motivation,” he said. “I feel like you’re really dependent on your car, and I never did have the proper opportunity to win a championship.”
He continued: “I would like to leave the mark that anything is possible. We should never put barriers on our dreams, and as long as we give it our all, that’s all that matters.”
And he’ll be doing it while wearing Tommy Hilfiger.
“I’m just casual, I like classics and solid colors, and I wear a lot of Tommy, especially now that I’m their ambassador,” he said, adding with a smile. “They give me clothes for free, so I’m saving a lot of money.”