Jonathan Wheatley recommends Sergio Perez for Cadillac: “He will get up to speed quickly”. Jonathan Wheatley believes Sergio Perez is capable of returning to Formula 1 by 2026.

Sergio Perez has an ex-Red Bull sponsor
The start of the 2025 season reaffirmed what had already been clear, but not understood at Red Bull: Sergio Perez wasn’t the only problem. While the Mexican underperformed in 2024, the gap to Max Verstappen was more due to the four-time world champion’s class and his synergy with the car than Perez’s driving ability.

Sergio Perez may have deserved to be dropped at the end of 2024, but the team worsened the situation regarding the second driver by choosing an inexperienced Liam Lawson, then dismissing him and promoting Yuki Tsunoda. In the first three races, the Japanese driver certainly didn’t impress, much to Sergio Perez’s “delight,” as he can now use Red Bull’s current difficulties to secure a seat for 2026. His “sponsor” is Jonathan Wheatley, who worked with the Mexican at Milton Keynes and, starting from the Suzuka GP, became the team principal at Sauber.

Jonathan Wheatley’s comments
Jonathan Wheatley, chosen as a key figure by Audi to launch their F1 project, believes Sergio Perez can return to Formula 1 soon: “I believe he’s more than capable of returning and getting up to speed quickly with a new team,” he said to Formula.Hu. “Checo was on one of the toughest seats in Formula 1 last year: anyone facing someone like Max struggles more with the car, and this dynamic seems to apply in 2025 as well.”

“I’ve always been impressed by the way he managed to bounce back stronger from every bad race. Checo is a very professional driver, with great speed and talent, and it’s a pleasure to work with him. He also understands the technical side and I’ve always thought his explanations to the engineers about how the car behaved were very clear and easy to understand.” – he pointed out.

Cadillac possibility
Jonathan Wheatley’s advice doesn’t apply to Kick Sauber, which is already “set” for 2026 with Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto under contract. The most obvious path for Sergio Perez is to join Cadillac, the new F1 entry for 2026. Mario Andretti, who will have a significant role in choosing the drivers, has never hidden his desire for Checo as an experienced figure to help the team at the start of its F1 adventure.