Sergio Perez faced being forced into retirement when Red Bull released the Mexican from his contract for the 2025 F1 season, but he may now return to the grid in 2026.
The 35-year-old is having to watch an F1 season from the sidelines for the first time since he debuted with Sauber back in 2011. Red Bull had given Perez a new contract for at least 2025 last June, but costing them the F1 constructors’ championship in 2024 even cost him his job.
Perez finished last year just eighth in the drivers’ standings with 152 of Red Bull’s 589 points. He even failed to finish a Grand Prix higher than P6 after the sixth of last season’s 24 rounds, including failing to score in eight Grands Prix within which he also could not finish five times.
Yet Cadillac have shown an interest in Perez, as they study the F1 driver market ahead of the General Motors brand debuting on the grid in 2026. Perez has also emerged as an option for Alpine, with executive adviser Flavio Briatore still to finalise their driver line-up for next year.
Carlos Slim confirms Sergio Perez is still considering ‘several options’ for his F1 return
Perez’s manager has made it clear that he does not want to retire, as the six-time Grand Prix winner is already bored after six months on the sidelines. Carlos Slim has also now revealed that Perez is mulling ‘several options’ and is working hard to prepare himself to return to F1.
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“I know he has several options,” Slim said, via quotes by Formule1.NL. “He has our support, and he has the support of the fans.
“He is working on his preparation and, hopefully, he will make that comeback soon. We would all be very happy to see him back on the track, but he has to make that decision himself first.”
Sergio Perez is starting to favour joining Cadillac in 2026 despite holding talks with Alpine
Alpine are open to signing Perez after Slim met Briatore at May’s Miami Grand Prix. Mexican billionaire Slim is one of the 39-time Grand Prix podium finisher’s biggest backers and he will help Perez to return to F1. But Perez is focusing on Cadillac instead of joining Alpine in 2026.
Perez’s manager met Alpine at the Monaco Grand Prix to discuss the potential availability of a seat in Enstone, either for this term with Franco Colapinto in a critical phase for his future at Alpine or next year. But a chance to lead Cadillac’s debut in F1 is proving more appealing.
Yet Perez is holding off on signing for Cadillac to potentially join Mercedes, with Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell both still without contracts for 2026. Perez has already agreed to the terms of a contract with Cadillac, but is still looking to keep his options open for now.
