Jonathan Wheatley throws support behind Sergio Perez amid F1 return talks

Sauber team principal and former Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley has thrown his support behind Sergio Perez as the Mexican driver eyes a return to Formula 1.

Red Bull ended Sergio Perez's contract at the end of 2024 to replace him with Liam Lawson for 2025, although the New Zealander was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda after just two grands prix. 

Since his exit from the championship, the Mexican driver has taken time away from F1 to decide what he wanted to do with his future. But it has now been confirmed he has been in talks with Cadillac and, reportedly, Alpine.

“It's been great to have this amount of time to step back a bit, see the sport from the outside and be able to realise the journey that I’ve had so far in many areas,” Perez explained previously to F1.com.

“I feel like I’m in a privileged position with my career, knowing that I’ve always maximised all my opportunities and that to me as an athlete is very important.”

He added, “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.”

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Perez has Wheatley's full support, having nothing but nice things to say about him during an interview with F1.com.

"Firstly, I really enjoyed working with Checo. He's a great personality, great attitude to life, full stop.

"I have no doubt about his pace and his speed. It's been natural since the beginning.

"He put in some tremendous drives at my former team and I don't think it's much of a barrier that he's had a bit of time off between driving a Formula 1 car because when you know how to do that, you know how to do it."

He added, "I spent a lot of time with him early on because I wanted to get to know him and I wanted him to adjust to the team. What I really liked was he pushed me in my sporting role – pushed me very, very hard.

"He made me question whether I was putting every bit of effort in, not that he was criticising, but he would challenge you in a positive way and I enjoyed it.

"I think it helped motivate me to become better at my job and I'd like to think maybe it was reciprocal and the work that we did together made him better at his."

He continued, "He's fully focused on performance and what do you want from a driver?"

Cadillac F1 team principal Graeme Lowdon has recently confirmed that the American outfit is in talks with Perez as well as Valtteri Bottas and Mick Schumacher, among others.