Former Red Bull driver Sergio Perez is in “advanced talks” to return to Formula 1 with the new Cadillac F1 team, it has been claimed.

Perez was left without a drive for the F1 2025 season after vacating his Red Bull seat at the end of last year following a bruising 2024 campaign.

Sergio Perez set to make F1 2026 comeback with Cadillac F1 team?

His exit came just six months after Perez signed a two-year contract to remain with Red Bull until the end of F1 2026, with both parties reaching an agreement to part ways.

The 35-year-old, who arrived on the grid with the Sauber team in 2011, stands as the most successful Mexican driver in F1 history with six grand prix victories to his name.

Perez recently emerged as a contender to join the new Cadillac F1 team, whose application to enter Formula 1 was formally approved last month.

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And a report by British newspaper the Times has claimed that Perez is in “advanced talks” to join the American outfit for next season.

It is said that talks between Perez and Cadillac F1 are “progressing well” but a contract is yet to be signed with “financial details” still to be “ironed out.”

Cadillac F1 have been open about their driver plans for their debut season in F1 2026, expressing a desire to pair an up-and-coming American driver with an experienced F1 driver.

Colton Herta, the California-born IndyCar star, has been persistently linked with a switch to Formula 1 with Cadillac F1.

The news of Perez’s negotiations with Cadillac F1 comes less than 24 hours after the Mexican broke his silence on his Red Bull departure in an interview with the official F1 website, in which he revealed that he has been talking to a number of teams with a view to a 2026 comeback.

He said: “If I find a project that motivates me fully to come back, where the team believe in me and where they appreciate my career, my experience and everything I can bring to a team, it would be very attractive to consider it.

“That’s why I’ve given myself at least six months to get all my options on the table and make a decision on what I do next with my career.

“There are a few very interesting projects out there. I’ve been approached by a few teams since Abu Dhabi.

“Right now, the season has started so a few things will open up in the coming months.

“We are talking to a few parties out there. Once I know all my options, I will make a decision.

“What is very clear to me is that I’m only coming back if the project makes sense and it’s something I can enjoy.

“I’ve spent a long time in F1 already, I’ve done most of it.

“Once you step back, you realise how much you give up in life to be in the sport. So to be in F1 fully committed, I need the motivation.”

Mario Andretti, the 1978 World Champion acting as an adviser to Cadillac F1, recently hinted that Perez is high on the team’s shortlist for the F1 2026 season.

And he quipped that Perez’s reputation has been enhanced by the struggles of his successor, Liam Lawson, who has been dropped by Red Bull after just two races of 2025.

Appearing on the ESPN Racing podcast, Andretti said: “He is an option. He could be an option. Of course he could be an option.

“All I can say is that Liam Lawson is making Checo look very, very good.”

Andretti went on to suggest that two other drivers – believed to be former Sauber team-mates Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu – are competing with Perez for Cadillac’s ‘established’ seat.

He said: “I wish I could tell you, but this is something we’re keeping secret ourselves because we don’t want to get our hopes up in some areas where it might not happen.

“So I think it’s very important that we keep this between us until a final decision is made.

“There’s a lot of [drivers] in the US, but because of licensing and everything else there’s definitely not too many options [for an American driver].

“But the second driver, the second seat, will definitely be an experienced driver that could be available.

“And we all know that the selection in that sense is pretty clear.

“There could be three drivers to choose from. Three drivers, realistically, to choose from. And I’m not going to tell you which ones.”

Cadillac F1 announced last December that they will compete with customer Ferrari engines and gearboxes from F1 2026 before constructing their own power unit, which is likely to be ready for the start of the 2028 season.

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