Sergio Perez believes he has “maybe three more years” left in Formula 1 and wants to use that time to help Cadillac establish itself in the sport.
The Mexican driver left F1 at the end of 2024 after Red Bull released him following a difficult season. Perez had finished second in the 2023 drivers’ championship, but his form declined after a strong start to the campaign. He then slipped to eighth in the 2024 standings, recording only four podium finishes.
After spending a year away from Formula 1, Perez returned when Cadillac signed him to partner Valtteri Bottas. The new team has opted for an experienced driver line-up as it prepares to enter the championship, with both drivers bringing knowledge of leading F1 operations to the project.
Sergio Perez embraces Cadillac’s Formula 1 project
Speaking on the F1 Beyond the Grid podcast, Perez said he is enjoying his role in helping shape Cadillac’s future. He described himself as “more than a driver” because of his involvement in development and the team’s wider direction.
He added that only a small number of drivers have the opportunity to help build a Formula 1 team from the ground up.
“I really feel like this is a project. And I really feel like I’m part of this project of this new era, like building something from scratch,” Perez said.
“Of course, I want to win championships and be fighting at the front. But if you don’t have that opportunity, I think Cadillac, it’s something that motivates me a lot. It’s like building a team from scratch and starting basically from last to see how far we can go together.
“And like you say, you know, I feel like here I’m much more than a driver. At the same time, they listen a lot to me on different things, on development and stuff. Only a few drivers can get that in their careers, and it’s the first time I can have this.”
Perez says motivation will determine when he retires
Perez later discussed his long-term future and explained that the key sign it is time to stop racing will be a decline in his “will” and concentration. He said a driver’s focus on the car, engineers and pursuit of performance eventually reveals whether the desire to compete is fading.
For now, Perez believes the Cadillac project is providing enough motivation to keep him focused. He estimates that he could have approximately three years of racing remaining before turning his attention to interests outside Formula 1.
“I think there’s a certain age where you start to drop,” he added. “I think it’s the engine inside you. It’s the will, and you see it from the outside, when you’re not in the car, how much you’re thinking on your engineers, on your car.
“When you go away and you start thinking less and less on that, that’s the first alarm, I would say. It’s going away. Because when you’re young, all what you’re thinking, it’s what’s coming next, how you will be driving better, what different techniques you can use, and that sort of thing.
“But as you get older and older – and some drivers are different. Some drivers, it happens at late 20s, mid-30s, mid-40s, and others – we might see Fernando until he’s 60! He’s still driving at a very high level. But I think Fernando is different.
“He has that engine inside him still. You can see him whenever there is an opportunity, like whenever there is anything he can take advantage of, he still has that.
“And you can see it. But everyone is different. I don’t think that there is a number, that there is an age. Although Formula 1 is very physical, very demanding, training is not a limitation like other sports, like within football or tennis. Here, I think, it’s more the brain or the vision.
“I think at the same time, it’s really hard for a driver to realise it’s enough, that I’m not as competitive as I wish or as I want to be and you need to call it off. And I think to take that decision as a driver is not so easy.
“But at the end, you need to be very honest with yourself and grateful, you know, to that kid that started everything and you need to be able to say, you know, it’s time to do something else.
“It’s hard to tell you a number. Obviously, I don’t have much in it. Say, maybe three years more. I want to see this project moving forward. I think that requires a bit more time.
“But yeah, I mean, I respect a lot what Fernando has done in the sport and the motivation he has. But for me, it wouldn’t be that long because I want to do other things out of Formula 1.”
