Sergio Perez is not surprised to see his Red Bull Formula 1 replacements struggle badly this season and believes his own achievements are now being given "much more value".
The decision to drop Perez for Liam Lawson, who lasted just two races before Red Bull turned instead to Yuki Tsunoda, has been ill-fated for Red Bull.
Lawson was shockingly off the pace in his first two events as Max Verstappen’s team-mate, leading to his immediate demotion, but while Tsunoda has shown better performance than Lawson, he has still only scored seven points in 12 events.
Perez, speaking after his official unveiling as a 2026 Cadillac F1 driver this week, said that “the results speak for themselves” and he believes “that today what I did in the last few years has much more value than when we were there”.
The implication is that what Perez achieved at Red Bull - at his best, when he won five races and finished second in the world championship in 2023, and even when he was struggling most - is now viewed in greater regard given how poorly his successors have performed.
“I wasn't surprised,” Perez said when asked about what happened to Lawson and now Tsunoda.
“I knew that this was going to happen. I knew the problems there were in terms of constantly adapting.
“You just have to look at how the years started [when he was at Red Bull]. They started out competitive, but then the upgrades came and everything went away.
“I knew that it's a very difficult car to drive and you're constantly adapting to Max's driving style, essentially. That's what makes that car so special, that all the time instead of evolving, you're adapting. Then there's a variable like the wind, the rain, and it’s out of control.
“So, I knew this was going to happen, and, well, you can see the results.”
Over his four Red Bull seasons, Perez was generally a strong number two driver for Red Bull, even though he could have patchy runs, particularly when caught out by the car’s characteristics changing around significant in-season updates.
His worst spell was after the first quarter of the 2024 season, with an awful run that began just before his new contract was made official. Perez was second in the world championship after the Miami Grand Prix in May, but scored just 49 points over the remaining 18 events.
That rate of 2.7 points per weekend obliterated Red Bull’s chance of winning the constructors’ championship and, as Verstappen continued to win the odd race, led to Red Bull giving up on Perez by the end of the year, even though its unique car limitations exacerbated his struggles.
And what has happened subsequently with Lawson and Tsunoda is vindication for Perez that only a top-level driver could come in and immediately be an improvement on what he was doing, even though his results were so poor by the end.
Though Red Bull's continued decline means an outright comparison of peak results and total points would be unfair, percentage-wise their combined tally of seven points is just 4.4% of Red Bull’s score this season, compared to 14% for Perez across rounds 7-24 last year, undeniably his worst Red Bull spell.
And Verstappen, speaking as F1’s season resumed at the Dutch Grand Prix on Thursday, believes Perez can show the best of himself in F1 again at Cadillac.
“It's a fresh start now,” said Verstappen. “Also from his side, one half, or a season, doesn't define what you can do.
“He's also quite easy in that. Some people maybe dwell on it a bit more, I think for Checo, it's a new start, you're excited, completely new cars also.
“He had shown a lot of great things even before he got to Red Bull, during the Red Bull time.
“So he just needs to go in there and enjoy it again and have a good time.”
Perez got very defensive at times last year as his place at Red Bull came under scrutiny and team bosses even considered dropping him mid-season.
The reality of how vulnerable he was only seemed to become apparent to Perez at the very end of the year, when he was eventually paid off to avoid being kept on for two years in a non-racing role.
Perez said he is proud of how he remained committed until his final race and did not criticise Red Bull “despite the circumstances I had, all the criticism I got from the team, all the moments we went through”.
He has spoken of his desire to get back to enjoying F1 with his Cadillac return and the nature of his Red Bull exit had clearly played on his mind over the winter.
“In the end, people who know about Formula 1 have realised what I've done in recent years in the category,” he said.
“So, on that side, I have nothing to prove. I'm back to enjoy the sport that I love, the sport that has given me so much.
“With that mindset, enjoying it again, we're going to be very, very successful.
“I couldn't allow myself to leave Formula 1 the way I did. In the last few races, I wasn't enjoying it; I was even resentful towards the sport.
“So, it came to a point when I thought I couldn't leave like that, that I have to leave this sport, loving it because it has given me everything.”
