The fallout from Sergio Pérez’s Red Bull stint is still causing waves. The Mexican has repeatedly criticised his four years alongside Max Verstappen in the run-up to his return to Cadillac. Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya has little time for Pérez’s recent complaints and puts his remarks in a different light; he stresses, above all, the opportunities Red Bull provided the 35-year-old racer.
Sergio Pérez arrived at Red Bull in 2021 as the replacement for Alexander Albon. At first it looked like the team had finally found a suitable teammate for Max Verstappen, but in later seasons he—like those before him—diminished beside the Dutch champion. That culminated in a split with the team at the end of 2024. Pérez will soon make his comeback with the brand-new Cadillac team and is once again in the spotlight. He has also been openly critical of his time in Milton Keynes; on the CRACKS podcast he said that “everything at Red Bull was a problem.”
Montoya: ‘Pérez was given plenty of chances’
On his MontoyAS podcast Juan Pablo Montoya reacted to Pérez’s remarks. The Colombian sketched a more nuanced picture. “If you look at it from the perspective of a Mexican Pérez fan, you could argue that Red Bull didn’t treat him entirely fairly,” he said. “But as he himself admits, he knew what he was signing up for. Fair or not, Red Bull still delivered him five wins. What is there to complain about?”
According to Montoya that view is part of Formula 1. “You can moan that the car was sometimes undriveable, but there were also a lot of positives,” he concluded. “Red Bull gave him plenty of opportunities. When he felt comfortable in the car, he performed brilliantly.” In four seasons Pérez not only won five races, he also claimed three pole positions and stood on the podium 29 times in total for the Austrian outfit.
See the 2026 F1 calendar
