Sauber team boss Jonathan Wheatley is confident that Sergio Pérez can make a comeback in Formula 1. The former sporting director of Red Bull worked closely with the Mexican driver at the Austrian team. Wheatley was then impressed by Pérez’s natural speed, and does not expect the driver to have slowed down during his absence from Formula 1.
Current Sauber team boss Jonathan Wheatley and Sergio Pérez worked together for several years during their time at Red Bull. Wheatley announced last August that he would be leaving Red Bull for a role as team boss at Sauber, while the Mexican driver was let go at the end of 2024 due to disappointing results. However, Wheatley believes that Pérez can still perform at a Formula 1 level.
“I have no doubt about Checo’s pace and speed,” Sauber’s team boss tells Formula1.com. “He has been naturally fast from the start. He also drove some great races for my previous team (Red Bull). And I don’t think it’s a hindrance that he hasn’t driven a Formula 1 car for a while. Once you know how to drive one, you always know how to do it.”
Since Pérez’s departure from Red Bull, successors Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda also struggled with handling the unpredictable car of the Austrians. In total, the two drivers scored seven World Championship points in the first half of the 2025 season. Pérez, in the same period a year earlier, had amassed 118 World Championship points.
‘Pérez Challenged Me’
Wheatley also has fond memories of working with Pérez. “I spent a lot of time with him in the beginning, because I wanted to get to know him and I wanted him to adapt to the team,” continues the Brit. Wheatley was the sporting director of Red Bull when Pérez joined the team in 2021. “What I really liked was that he really challenged me in my sporting role. Not that he was critical, but he challenged you in a positive way and I enjoyed that.”
“I think it helped me to get better at my job. I hope it was perhaps mutual and that the work we did together made him better at his job,” adds Wheatley. “He is completely focused on performance and what more could you want from a driver?” Pérez is currently being linked with a seat at Cadillac, the American team that will make its debut as the eleventh team in Formula 1 in 2026.
