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Sergio “Checo” Pérez will have two reasons to celebrate when he lines up for Sunday’s Mexico City Grand Prix. The Guadalajara driver is scheduled to make his 300th Formula One start in front of his home fans, and he now knows his place on the grid is secure for years to come. Cadillac announced Wednesday that it has extended his contract through at least 2029.
The agreement gives Pérez, 36, a longer future than seemed possible when he lost his Red Bull seat after the 2024 season. He sat out 2025 before joining Cadillac for the American manufacturer’s Formula One debut this year. His return has been difficult on the track, but the team wants his experience as it tries to become competitive.
Pérez started his Formula One career with Sauber at the 2011 Australian Grand Prix, when he was 21. Fifteen years later, he has six race victories, 39 podium finishes and three pole positions. Only six drivers have previously reached 300 Grand Prix starts, making Sunday’s milestone a rare one even in a sport accustomed to remarkable careers.
His first victory came in the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, when Pérez recovered from an opening-lap collision that dropped him to the back of the field. Driving for Racing Point, he worked his way through the pack to win. Red Bull signed him for 2021, beginning a four-season partnership with Max Verstappen.
Pérez added five victories with Red Bull, including the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix, and finished runner-up in the 2023 world championship. Then came a difficult 2024 campaign and his departure from the team. For the first time in years, his next season would not begin with a Formula One race.
Cadillac offered him a return, pairing him with veteran Valtteri Bottas. Neither driver has scored a championship point in the team’s inaugural season, and Pérez finished 19th Sunday at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. Cadillac’s results have been modest, but team officials say his technical feedback and leadership have helped its development.
“Joining Cadillac Formula 1 Team from day one was a project I truly believed in,” Pérez said in the team’s announcement. Cadillac chief executive Dan Towriss said the extension provides stability as the organization works to move up the standings. The agreement replaces any immediate question about whether Pérez would remain with the team beyond its early seasons.
The celebration began Wednesday with an exhibition drive along Mexico City’s Paseo de la Reforma. Thousands of supporters gathered to watch Pérez perform demonstration runs between two of the capital’s best-known monuments. This weekend he will return to the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez for a far more demanding drive.
He is unlikely to challenge for victory in a Cadillac that has yet to score a point. Yet the home race will mark something substantial for a driver who once faced an uncertain future after Red Bull: 300 starts, six victories and a contract that could keep him racing until he is nearly 40. He will take the start Sunday with 299 races behind him and a new deal extending his career through at least 2029.
