Sergio Perez Stats: 6 F1 Wins, 39 Podiums and a Cadillac Future
Welcome to the Happy Hour Racing Formula 1 Driver Spotlight - where we pull one driver into the garage, look under the hood at their career, and tell you what makes them tick. This week: the Mexican veteran who waited 190 starts for his first win and is now building a brand-new team from scratch.
The Short Version
The Sergio Perez stats tell a story of patience: 301 Formula 1 starts, 6 wins, 39 podiums, 3 poles and 1,638 career points through the 2026 Brazilian Grand Prix. He needed 190 starts to win his first race, which was a record at the time. Two years later he was in a Red Bull, and in 2023 he finished second in the championship, the best result a Mexican driver has ever had. Now 36, he is the lead driver at Cadillac, a team still chasing its first point, and he just signed on through at least 2029.
From Guadalajara to Sauber
Sergio Perez Mendoza was born on January 26, 1990, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Everybody calls him Checo. He reached Formula 1 with Sauber in 2011, and his debut summed up how that first year went. He brought the car home seventh in Australia, then both Saubers were disqualified over a rear wing technical problem. A heavy qualifying crash at Monaco a few months later cost him that race, and he sat out Canada too.
Year two was the breakout. In 2012 he finished second in Malaysia, chasing down Fernando Alonso in the wet, then took third in Canada and second at Monza. Three podiums in a midfield Sauber got McLaren's attention, and he moved there for 2013. It did not work. McLaren built a slow car, he went the whole year without a podium, and the team let him go after one season.
The Force India Years
A lot of drivers disappear after getting dropped by a top team. Perez went to Force India and turned into the best midfield driver of his era. From 2014 through 2020 (the team became Racing Point in 2019), he picked up podiums in Bahrain, Russia, Monaco and twice in Baku. He finished seventh in the championship in 2016 and again in 2017, a big ask in a car that was never close to the front.
His calling card was tire management. Perez could make one fewer pit stop than the cars around him and still hold position, which turned a lot of 10th-place cars into 6th-place finishes. That skill would win him races later.
Sakhir 2020: Last to First
Late in 2020, Racing Point told Perez it was replacing him with Sebastian Vettel for 2021. He had no seat lined up. Then came the Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain. On the first lap he got tagged by Charles Leclerc, spun, and had to pit. He dropped to last place.
He drove all the way back. When Mercedes botched a pit stop for leader George Russell, Perez inherited the lead and won. It was his 190th start, breaking Mark Webber's mark of 130 starts for the longest wait before a first win. He was the first Mexican to win a grand prix since Pedro Rodriguez at Spa in 1970. A few weeks later, Red Bull hired him.
Sergio Perez Stats at Red Bull
Red Bull brought Perez in to be the second driver behind Max Verstappen, and for three years he did that job well. Five of his six career wins came in a Red Bull:
- 2021 Azerbaijan GP - his first Red Bull win, from sixth on the grid.
- 2022 Monaco GP - the biggest win of his career, on a drying track.
- 2022 Singapore GP - from second on the grid, holding off Leclerc to the flag.
- 2023 Saudi Arabian GP - from pole, his best weekend start to finish.
- 2023 Azerbaijan GP - his second Baku win and a big reason fans call him the King of the Streets.
His most famous Red Bull drive did not even end on the podium. In the 2021 title decider at Abu Dhabi, he held up Lewis Hamilton for a full lap so Verstappen could close the gap. Verstappen won that title, and Perez finished fourth in the standings with 190 points.
The peak came next. Perez scored 305 points and finished third in 2022, then 285 points and second in 2023, giving Red Bull its first one-two finish in the championship. No Mexican driver had ever finished higher than sixth before him. But 2024 was rough. After a third place in China in April, he did not reach the podium again all season, slipped to eighth, and on December 18, 2024, Red Bull and Perez agreed to part ways with two years left on his deal.
A Year Off, Then Cadillac
Perez sat out all of 2025. In August of that year, Cadillac named him and Valtteri Bottas as the drivers for its first Formula 1 season. The two veterans have 16 wins between them, and Cadillac wanted that experience for a team starting from nothing.
Year one has been a grind. Through 20 races, Perez has not scored a point. His best classified finish is 14th, which he has done three times: Barcelona, Silverstone and Baku. He crossed the line 10th at Monaco before a time penalty took the point away. Still, the team is happy with him. He has edged Bottas in qualifying, and on October 28, right before the Mexico City Grand Prix, Cadillac signed Perez to an extension through at least 2029. That weekend, at home, he made his 300th career start.
Sergio Perez on X, October 28, 2026
The Bottom Line
Sergio Perez has been written off at least three times: after McLaren, after Racing Point and after Red Bull. Each time he came back. Six wins and a runner-up finish make him the most successful Mexican driver in Formula 1 history, and now he gets to be the guy who scores Cadillac's first point.
Shop Formula 1 Gear
Perez won five of his six grands prix for Red Bull and started his career at Sauber. Everything below is real Formula 1 gear, in stock right now:
- Red Bull Racing F1 2023 Spielberg Austrian GP Hoodie - from the year he finished second in the championship.
- Red Bull Racing F1 Special Edition Austria Spielberg GP T-Shirt
- Red Bull Racing F1 2022 Special Edition USA GP T-Shirt - from his best points season, 305 of them.
- Red Bull Racing Special Edition Austin GP Bucket Hat
- Stake F1 Sauber Kick Team Polo - the team that gave Checo his first shot in 2011.
Browse the full Formula 1 collection, or see the newest arrivals.
