Sergio Perez: How time away from F1 changed his perspective on racing

Sergio Perez has revealed the importance of taking time away from Formula 1, claiming that once he was forced to step out of it, he 'realised a lot of things'.

The Mexican driver was replaced at Red Bull for the 2025 season by rookie Liam Lawson. Having lost the seat at the end of 2024, Perez was unable to secure another full-time seat and instead took some time away from the championship.

"I didn't feel at the time [but I needed the break]. When you are in the sport, you are carried away with the fact that you are always thinking about your next year, your next race, your next contract," Perez told F1.com.

"It's like you are in automatic mode. But once you are forced to step out of it like I was, you realise a lot of things and you see the sport different."

He added: "When you are in that bubble of Formula 1 – because at the end of the day, Formula 1 is a bubble – as a driver you worry about a lot of factors. You are not always satisfied because you didn't take the extra time that was in there and so on and you forget that the main thing is to enjoy it, because at the end of the day, we are privileged to be able to do what we love.

"That to me was like the biggest lesson: that you have to enjoy the sport because we are so competitive and we are so focused on giving our maximum that you forget to enjoy it."

Race winner Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes GP, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Dan Istitene / Getty Images

The 35-year-old ultimately signed with Cadillac, which is set to debut on the grid in 2026, alongside Mercedes reserve and former Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas.

"In the beginning, the first couple of months were great," he said. "I realised that I missed [F1] because I kept following it. I kept waking up for the races.

"I could see what was happening – I was talking to friends that were in the paddock, and I realised that probably I missed it more than I thought.

"And then when the conversation started with Cadillac and we could see that passion for racing, then, yeah, I felt like I still have something left in me."