Formula 1 fans around the world were absolutely buzzing with excitement when Cadillac announced that their debut line-up would include Sergio Pérez (fondly referred to as “Checo” by most). After parting ways with Red Bull at the end of 2024, Perez spent the following year on the sidelines, making it the first season away from F1 since his debut in the sport back in 2011. And over all of these years, he has built up quite a bit of lore. From a pivotal crash early in his career, to his collection of watches that commemorate some of the highs, we are diving into a few things you may not have known about the man, the myth, the legend that is Checo Perez.
Feeling the ‘before and after’ of his 175 mph Monaco crash
During the final few minutes of Qualifying for the 2011 Monaco Grand Prix—his first time at the circuit in Formula 1—Perez hit the barriers at the exit of the tunnel at roughly 175 mph (about 282 km/h). This sent his Sauber across the chicane and right into a wall of tires, and while he was able to get out of the car fairly quickly and was immediately rushed to Princess Grace Hospital, it would take the clean-up crew a further 40 minutes to clear the rubble. Perez’s condition remained unknown for the next two hours, until Sauber reported that he had sustained a concussion and sprained his thigh, but otherwise things were “encouraging.”
“To me it is like a watershed event in my career,” Perez described it one year later to RaceFans writer Keith Collantine. “There is a time before and a time after the accident. I learnt a lot from what I had to go through and I think it made me stronger.”
Both the physical and mental process of getting back into the car after such an intense accident were things that Perez had to work through diligently.
“Physically I had to wait,” he said during a 2011 Q&A with AutoSport. “This wasn't easy, but it was important. When I got back into the car for free practice in Canada I realised the difficulties I had. I felt dizzy, so it was impossible to drive… It was only in Budapest [nine weeks after the crash] that I felt I was completely over it. It had been a very heavy impact and I learnt it takes time to physically make sure you feel right after suffering from concussion.
“Mentally it was a shock too. It helped me a lot to go home to Mexico and it was important to do all that work to prepare for racing again.”
No F1 driver had to wait this long for their first win
It may have taken Perez just the second race of his second season in F1 to reach the podium (a P2 at the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix while driving with Sauber), but the wait for his first win was much, much longer. In fact, it would take him three teams, 10 years and a grand total of 190 race starts before he made it to the top step to celebrate a victory at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix. In fact, it was a record-breaking wait, becoming the longest time any driver has spent in F1 before his maiden win.
But if his patience and perseverance got him there over those 10 years, they also got him across the finish line on the day of the race because, despite starting from a solid P5 on the grid, Perez had to work for this win. On the opening lap of the race, as they were fighting for P3, Perez’s Racing Point clipped the front wing of Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, causing him to spin and tumble down, down, down to the very back of the field.
Perez was dead last. But he was not out of the running. He spent the entire race working his way to the front to get that lead and cross the finish line first. It’s a comeback that perfectly embodies his personal motto: ‘Never give up’.
“I’m a bit speechless,” he said after the race. “I hope I’m not dreaming, you know, because I dreamed so many years of being in this moment. Ten years, ten years it took me. Incredible. I mean, I don’t know what to say.
His racing number is an ode to another passion of his
It is common for F1 drivers to pick numbers based on their heroes in the sport. Kimi Antonelli races with Ayrton Senna’s 12. Jack Doohan raced with the number 7 during his short stint in F1 in 2025 because of its connection to Kimi Räikkönen. Sebastian Vettel’s 5 is an homage to Nigel Mansell.
Perez’s racing number, 11, is likewise a reference to someone he looks up to. But unlike for the drivers mentioned above, this number isn’t tied to another figure in motorsport. Instead it stems from his love of football.
“I used to admire a football player,” he explained to F1 back in 2023. “His name is Ivan Zamorano, and he had the number 11… So, when I was at karting, I said I also want to have the number 11. Since then, I’ve always used 11. Still my email is with number 11."
Zamorano played for three years in Club América, a football club based in Mexico City and the team that Perez supports.
But beyond just watching football, Perez is an avid player of the sport as well.
“I have my own football team with friends,” in the previously mentioned Secret Life interview. “It is pretty professional! When I am back in Mexico I spend a lot of time with the team. I think I can say that I am a good player, a good striker!”
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