Sergio Perez’s father drops shocking Red Bull conspiracy after F1 driver shake-up

Antonio Perez Garibay, the father of former F1 driver Sergio Perez, has suggested that Red Bull’s two cars are not identical.

Perez was dropped by Red Bull at the end of 2024 following a poor season.

The Mexican finished a lowly eighth in the F1 drivers’ championship.

Perez’s form meant that Red Bull dropped to third in the constructors’ championship, finishing behind McLaren and Ferrari.

This was despite Max Verstappen winning his fourth consecutive F1 drivers’ title.

Perez is currently on the sidelines in 2025, but he’s eyeing a return to the sport next year, potentially with Cadillac.

Perez’s father, Antonio, has caused a stir, however.

The 65-year-old has claimed that Perez and Verstappen’s car “were not the same”.

He also suggested that Verstappen would have struggled just as much if he had been driving Perez’s car last year.

His comments come after Red Bull made the brutal decision to drop Liam Lawson for Yuki Tsunoda after just two races in 2025.

Appearing on the Formula de 2 podcast, Perez’s father said: “What I’m about to say will cause a lot of commotion, but the car with number 1 [Verstappen] was not the same as the car with number 11 (Perez].

“And if you were to put the driver of car 1 in car 11, he won’t get out of Q1 in qualifying either and he won’t pass the car with number 1. If you put the driver from car 1 in car 11, he doesn’t do any better. So it does lie with the car. The cars were not the same.

“I hope things are different today and that in Japan Yuki has the best car Red Bull can give him.

“They cannot disappoint the Japanese fans, they have to give Yuki the best means to fight. And so he has to have the same car.”

Will Sergio Perez return to F1?

Perez is targeting a return to F1 in 2026.

The 35-year-old has revealed in a recent interview that he’s held talks with multiple teams over a potential comeback.

His likeliest option is Cadillac, who will be F1’s 11th team next year.

Antonio has hinted that his son only wants to fight at the front of the grid, which is unlikely with a new team.

“He had opportunities and open doors with other teams to stay this year, but the level he wants to be at was not good,” Antonio Perez added.

“He deserves to be fighting at the front.”