Formula 1 News: Perez Whining Now After Verstappen Mopped the Floor with Him for Years

Just when the Formula 1 off-season was starting to quiet down, Sergio “Checo” Perez has decided to air his grievances about his time at Red Bull Racing, painting himself as the victim of a team allegedly rigged for Max Verstappen’s success.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

In a recent appearance on the Cracks podcast with Oso Trava, Perez unloaded on his former squad, claiming that “everything was a problem” during his four-year stint alongside the Dutch dominator. But let’s be real: this sounds a lot like sour grapes from a driver who got consistently outpaced by Verstappen, a fate shared by every teammate the four-time champion has ever had.

Perez, who was unceremoniously dropped by Red Bull at the end of 2024 after finishing a dismal eighth in the standings, didn’t hold back. He described the environment as “very tense,” asserting that if he outperformed Verstappen—even briefly—it created issues within the team. “If I was faster than Max, it was a problem. If I was slower than Max, it was a problem. So everything was a problem,” Perez lamented. He went further, labeling his role as Verstappen’s teammate “the worst job in F1,” emphasizing the immense pressure and scrutiny that came with it. Perez even suggested the team was built entirely around Verstappen, with the second car essentially an afterthought: “This project is built for Max. It’s Red Bull.”

The Mexican driver also revisited old wounds, like the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix controversy where Verstappen refused team orders to let Perez pass, despite the latter’s pleas over the radio. Perez claimed he warned former team principal Christian Horner during exit talks that Red Bull’s habit of cycling through drivers—like replacing him with Liam Lawson, only to demote Lawson after two races—could lead to the team’s “downfall.” He positioned himself as a scapegoat, even implying he served as a “big diversion” from Horner’s 2024 improper behavior scandal.

Social media has been buzzing with reactions to Perez’s comments. On X, users like @formularacers_ amplified his quotes, sparking debates with thousands of likes and reposts, while others dismissed it as Perez dodging accountability for his own inconsistent performances. One post from @CxmeronCc highlighted the tension, garnering over 6,000 views, with fans split between sympathizing with Perez and calling it excuses. Reddit threads echoed this, with users pointing out that Red Bull’s favoritism toward Verstappen isn’t new—it’s a pattern that chewed up and spat out predecessors like Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, and Alex Albon.

Here’s the thing: Perez’s complaints ring hollow when you consider Verstappen’s track record. Max hasn’t just “mopped the floor” with Perez; he’s done it to everyone who’s dared share the garage with him. From Ricciardo’s confidence-shattering 2018 season to Gasly’s mid-year demotion in 2019, Albon’s struggles in 2020, and now Perez’s four-year slide from occasional race winner to backmarker fodder—Verstappen’s sheer pace and mental edge have turned Red Bull’s second seat into a revolving door of despair. Perez started strong in 2021-2023, nabbing wins in Azerbaijan, Monaco, and Singapore, but by 2024, he was a shadow of that form, often qualifying outside the top 10 while Verstappen clinched title after title.

To put the domination in black-and-white perspective, here’s the head-to-head stats table from their four seasons as teammates (2021–2024):

These numbers underscore one of the most lopsided teammate rivalries in modern F1 history—Verstappen outscored Perez by nearly 2:1, won over ten times as many races, and led laps at a ridiculous ratio.

Perez’s narrative of unfair treatment ignores his own role in the drama. Sure, Red Bull’s internal politics—rife with Horner scandals and power struggles—didn’t help, but Perez’s crashes, poor qualifying, and inability to consistently score points cost the team dearly in the constructors’ battle. As one X user put it, “Perez is just desperately doing whatever it takes to fix his reputation.” Now, as he gears up for a 2026 comeback with Cadillac alongside Valtteri Bottas, Perez seems intent on rewriting history.

In the end, this outburst feels like classic post-breakup venting. Red Bull was always Verstappen’s team, and Perez knew that going in. If anything, his complaints underscore why Max is the benchmark: no teammate has survived the comparison unscathed. As F1 heads into 2026 with new regs and fresh rivalries, Perez might want to focus less on whining and more on proving he can thrive without the shadow of a dominant partner looming over him.