Sergio Perez says even Hamilton and Leclerc would struggle as Verstappen’s teammates at Red Bull. Sergio Perez claims that no driver, not even Lewis Hamilton or Charles Leclerc, could handle being Max Verstappen’s teammate.

The Mexican driver believes that even the seven-time world champion and the Monegasque would face serious difficulties if they had to share a team with the Dutchman.

Max Verstappen, everyone’s nightmare
Since Max Verstappen entered Formula 1 at just 17 years old behind the wheel of Toro Rosso (now Racing Bulls), almost every driver who has been his teammate has found it extremely difficult to match the four-time world champion, both during his time with the Faenza-based team and, even more so, with Red Bull. Throughout his career, the Dutchman has effectively “knocked out” seven teammates, with the role of Verstappen’s teammate now considered the toughest and most feared position in Formula 1.

In addition to Carlos Sainz at Toro Rosso, Verstappen has achieved far better results at Red Bull compared to Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson, and Yuki Tsunoda. Most of them spent only a short time with the Milton Keynes team before being dropped by advisor Helmut Marko, who is now deciding who will partner Max Verstappen in 2026 — whether it will still be Yuki Tsunoda or another driver.

Sergio Perez’s view
Among those drivers, Sergio Perez raced alongside Verstappen at Red Bull from 2021 to 2024. During that period, the Mexican outqualified the world champion ten times but finished behind him in 80 qualifying battles. In races where both reached the finish line, Perez was ahead in 11 Grands Prix, compared to 79 won by Verstappen. It was a very difficult situation to handle for the 35-year-old, who will soon join Cadillac, as he explained during the Mexico City weekend: “As soon as the separation from Red Bull was decided, I realized that whoever joined Red Bull next would be completely powerless, because I barely managed to survive in such a difficult environment,” he told the media. “It’s very hard to drive alongside Max. Most people don’t understand that. I could say a lot more about it, but let’s leave it there: there’s no driver who could compete with Max. It doesn’t matter if you put Lewis Hamilton or Charles Leclerc in the car, they would all be finished.”

According to Sergio Perez, the challenges also come from the car’s setup, which is almost always tuned to Max Verstappen’s preferences: “As a driver, it’s really hard when you constantly have to think about how to drive,” he added. “Everything should happen naturally. If you start thinking too much, you know where that leads. You have to adapt to Max’s driving style. It’s not that the car is bad, but the balance is very specific — if you don’t drive like him, you’re completely lost. There are so many things that outsiders don’t understand. It’s not just about driving fast, but also about managing pressure and expectations. It’s really tough, and that’s why I say no driver can go to Red Bull and expect everything to go smoothly.” – the former Red Bull driver concluded.