Ramirez: Perez will be back but has to be more like Verstappen

Perez left Formula 1 last year after two troubled seasons with Red Bull, who replaced him with Liam Lawson alongside Verstappen. The Kiwi was later shifted to Racing Bulls, with Yuki Tsunoda promoted to the senior team from the Japanese Grand Prix onward.

Despite the abrupt exit, Ramirez insists Perez remains one of the most talented drivers of his generation and that the door to Formula 1 is not closed.

Ramirez explained that off-track choices had played a decisive role in Perez’s decline: “The problem with Checo, I don’t know if he likes to hear it or not, is that he has distanced himself from racing. If you are a Formula 1 driver, you have to put Formula 1 at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

"You have to be like Max Verstappen, who has a simulator on his plane and is always looking for ways to improve. Sergio likes money; he has made a lot of money. His manager was very good at securing strong contracts, and the contract with Red Bull was very good.”

For Ramirez, Perez’s motivation will determine whether he stages a comeback: “I think that, given how things went, he must have the desire to say: ‘I’ll come back, I’ll do my best, and I’ll show those who excluded me from Formula 1 that I can do better.’ He’s already proven that, because the drivers who replaced him weren’t up to the task.”

Perez has been linked with a move to the incoming Cadillac entry, who will join the grid in 2026 as Formula 1’s eleventh team. Ramirez believes such a step could be realistic, even if it does not immediately put the Mexican back at the sharp end of the grid.

Ramirez closed by reflecting on Red Bull’s handling of Perez: “If Red Bull had given him more time to return fully to this sport, he would have managed it. It was an oversight; he’s talented, and we’ll see him again in some car.

"At first, it won’t be a competitive one. I don’t know how long it will take or if he will change teams. The truth is, they didn’t give him much time, but those are Red Bull’s rules," concluded Ramirez.

Ahead of Cadillac's first foray into Formula 1 next year, becoming the sport's 11th team, highly experienced Perez appears to be the top candidate for the drive, along with fellow veteran, also not racing but as Mercedes reserved this year, Valtteri Bottas.