Sergio Michel “Checo” Pérez Mendoz, born January 26, 1990, is a Mexican racing driver who drives for Red Bull Racing in Formula One.
After previously driving for Sauber, McLaren, Force India, and Racing Point.
At the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, he won his maiden Formula One Grand Prix, breaking the record of 190 starts before a race win.
He also won his first Formula One pole position at the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, breaking the record of 215 races before his first pole position.
Pérez is signed to Red Bull Racing through the end of the 2024 season.
Early life and Education
Sergio Pérez was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.
He is the youngest child of Antonio Pérez Garibay and Maril Mendoza de Pérez.
He also has an older sister, Paola, and an older brother, Antonio, who is a retired stock car racing driver who competed in the NASCAR Mexico Series.
Pérez is a practicing Catholic.
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Career
Pérez began karting at the age of six in 1996.
In his debut year of competition, he won four junior races and finished second.
In 1997, he competed in the karting Youth Class, where he was the youngest driver in the category, earning a win, five podium finishes, and finishing fourth in the championship.
The next year, he returned to compete in the junior category, where he won eight races and became the category’s youngest champion.
Pérez was a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy until 2012.
During the 2011 season, he made his Formula One debut for Sauber.
With Sauber, he won his first Formula One podium at the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix.
He was dubbed “The Mexican Wunderkind” because of his young age and performance.
Pérez joined McLaren for the 2013 season, however, the team did not finish on the podium.
As a result, for the 2014 season, the team chose to replace Pérez with Kevin Magnussen.
Force India signed Pérez to a €15 million contract for the 2014 season.
He stayed with Force India when the team went bankrupt in 2018 and rebuilt as the Racing Point squad for 2019.
Racing Point signed a three-year agreement with Pérez in 2019.
Racing Point stated in September 2020 that Pérez would be leaving the team at the end of the season because of Sebastian Vettel.
Pérez signed with Red Bull Racing for the 2021 season in December.
Personal Life
Pérez married Carolina Marinez on June 1, 2018.
Checo (boy) and Carlota (daughter) are their two children.
Both Pérez brothers enjoy association football and have expressed an interest in leaving motor racing to play professionally.
Javier Hernández, a Mexican footballer, is a friend of the brothers.
Pérez claimed in a 2012 interview for the official Formula One website that if he hadn’t been a driver, he would have preferred to be a lawyer.
