Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez is a Mexican racing driver who drives for Red Bull Racing in the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship.

Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza was born on January 26, 1990, to Antonio Pérez Garibay and Marilú Mendoza de Pérez. Sergio Perez is the youngest of three children, and he also has a sister, Paola, and a brother, Antonio, who is a retired racing driver who used to compete in the NASCAR Mexico Series.

The Mexican started his racing career at the age of six in 1996. In 1997, Perez competed in the karting Youth Class championship; while he was the youngest driver, he managed to win a race and achieve five podiums in the end, finishing fourth in the championship.

The following year, he came back to compete, this time in the Junior category, and with eight wins, Sergio Perez became the youngest driver to ever win the championship in this category.

Thanks to his success, Sergio Perez was able to obtain special permission to compete in the 1999 80cc Shifter category, where he yet again created a record by scoring three wins and became the youngest driver to win a competition in this category. In the end, Sergio finished third in the 1999 80cc Shifter Championship.

Continuing to break records for the youngest driver to win a race in multiple categories he attended, Sergio Perez decided to move to Europe and compete in Formula BMW in 2005. That year, a Mexican driver finished 14th and sixth in 2006 driving for 4speed Media.

After winning the British Formula 3 Championship in 2007 and multiple races in the GP 2 series in which he finished second during the 2010 championship, Perez finally saw his chance on October 4, 2010, when the Formula 1 Sauber Racing team announced Perez would be racing for them from 2011.

Continuing his career, Sergio Perez raced for multiple teams in the Formula 1 championship, Sauber (2011 - 2012), McLaren (2013), and Force India (2014 - 2018), but his first F1 victory would come in Sakhir 2020 driving for the Racing Point team.

Making a great impression on the top Formula 1 team, Perez signed a contract with Red Bull Racing in 2021 and achieved five more wins in the team during the years  2021 - 2023. It was also here in Red Bull where Perez gained his nickname “Mexican minister of defense,” helping Max Verstappen win the 2021 and 2022 World Drivers' Championships.