From a disqualified debut to Sakhir victory: the turns that shaped Pérez's F1 career

On his Formula 1 debut, Sergio Pérez drove Sauber from 13th to seventh at the 2011 Australian Grand Prix, but the result did not survive post-race inspection. Both Saubers were disqualified after their rear wings exceeded a technical mounting limit by 2mm; his first official points had to wait until Spain later that year. Motorsport.com opens its retrospective at that near-miss, as Pérez approaches 300 F1 starts this weekend.

His first major breakthrough came in 2012. At the Malaysian Grand Prix, he chased Fernando Alonso for the win in heavy rain, then ran wide at the penultimate corner and finished second. The result marked Mexico's first F1 podium in 41 years. At Monza later that season, Pérez started 12th and finished second after passing Alonso with seven laps remaining; Niki Lauda praised the drive on the podium.

That Monza performance helped earn Pérez a McLaren seat for 2013, but the season went the other way: he finished 11th with 49 points, compared with Jenson Button's 73, and McLaren ended the year without a podium. Force India offered a reset. In Pérez's third race for the team, at Bahrain in 2014, he finished third for Force India's first podium since 2009. Their partnership produced five podiums, while the team finished fourth in the constructors' championship in 2016 and 2017.

The Force India chapter also brought a consequential decision off track. With the team in severe financial and legal trouble in 2018, Pérez initiated proceedings that put it into administration after the Hungarian Grand Prix. The action facilitated a sale to a consortium led by Lawrence Stroll, and the team was rebranded Racing Point. Pérez later said he had been asked to take that route to save 400 jobs at the factory.

A second major reversal arrived at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix. An opening-lap incident with Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen sent Pérez to last; he fought back to win his first F1 race and the first for Racing Point, taking advantage of Mercedes pit-stop errors and George Russell's late puncture. Red Bull was weighing Alex Albon's future, and the retrospective says Christian Horner saw Pérez pass Albon on track before recognizing him as the ideal candidate for the second seat.

His team role was clearest in the 2021 Abu Dhabi finale. On tyres 21 laps old, Pérez held Lewis Hamilton back long enough for Max Verstappen to close a nine-second gap; Verstappen praised him over team radio, saying, 'Checo is a legend.' Red Bull's relationship with Pérez later unravelled: despite a contract extension through 2026, his form declined during 2024 and the team announced his departure in December 2024.

The 300-start milestone comes in a challenging first season for Cadillac. The retrospective points to Pérez's strong outings against team-mate Valtteri Bottas and a Monaco top 10 that would have given Cadillac its first point without a post-race penalty for a restart. Pérez is preparing for his second full season with the team in 2027.