Sergio Perez now suspected to be heading for one Formula 1 team in 2026 after Red Bull exit

Sergio Perez’s future in Formula 1 is uncertain following his departure from Red Bull – with some even wondering if he will return at all.

The Mexican confirmed his exit from the Milton Keynes-based outfit on Wednesday after four seasons with the team. Perez faced increased pressure to keep his seat after he suffered his worst season with Red Bull this year.

The 34-year-old finished the 2024 season eighth in the standings, 285 points behind teammate and champion Max Verstappen. Perez did not finish on the podium after scoring four in the first five races of the season and grabbed only 49 points in the last 18 Grand Prix.

His terrible form ultimately costs Red Bull the Constructors’ Championship as they finished third behind champions McLaren by 77 points, with Ferrari in second. Juan Pablo Montoya reckons Perez cost Red Bull £23m in 2024 – presumably through crash damages and losing the constructors’ title.

The Mexican’s position within the team was hard to justify, and Perez seemed to know that himself as he decided to step away from Red Bull for 2025, with Liam Lawson replacing him.

It has been common for Red Bull over the years to demote some of their drivers back down to the junior team – now Racing Bulls – due to a lack of performance. But Christian Horner stressed that was not an option for Perez given the experience he has.

Matt Coch ‘suspects’ Sergio Perez will end up at Cadillac in 2026

Perez is one of five drivers who will be leaving a full-time seat in 2025, with some staying in the sport in some capacity.

It is expected Franco Colapinto will become Williams’ reserve driver next year, while Valtteri Bottas has returned ‘home’ to Mercedes as their reserve driver behind George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

The Finn will offer great experience for the Silver Arrows and knows the team well from his five-year stint from 2017 to 2021. Journalist Matt Coch also pointed out that it helps him keep his ‘foot in the door’ for 2026, with Bottas already having talks with Cadillac over a move when they join F1 that season.

But according to Coch, he ‘suspects’ that Perez will be the one to end up at Cadillac in 2026. Speaking about Bottas’ return to Mercedes: “It makes a lot of sense as well. You’ve got George Russell who’s got a bit of experience, but isn’t a championship contender, he’s never been through that process.

“You’ve got a young driver in Kimi Antonelli, you’ve got then a third driver in Valtteri Bottas who has that experience, knows the team, can jump in and do the job if he’s ever needed to so he ticks a lot of boxes there.

“I think that they probably won’t get it from someone like Fred Vesti or some of the other cats they have floating around so that makes a lot of sense.

“And also [it] just keeps Valtteri’s foot in the door for potentially Cadillac or something down the track, but I suspect we might see Sergio end up there.”

Which other drivers could join Cadillac in 2026?

Sergio Perez’s father stressed his son’s career is not over as the Mexican targets a return to F1, and it would make a lot of sense for Cadillac to sign him given his experience and his commercial value with his substantial financial backing and huge following in North America.

Cadillac also want to sign an American driver to their ranks in 2026, after F1 lost their only US driver earlier this year in Logan Sargeant. Colton Herta has been heavily linked with the team given his connections to Andretti in IndyCar.

Besides Perez, Cadillac do have several experienced F1 drivers they could go in for, with Bottas, Kevin Magnussen and Zhou Guanyu all available come 2026.

Guenther Steiner thinks Yuki Tsunoda is not interested in Cadillac as he focuses his attention on joining Red Bull. But after Lawson snubbed him of the second seat next to Verstappen, Tsunoda admitted he may look elsewhere to further his career, putting Cadillac back on the table.