Perez/Alpine talks a fresh F1 driver market twist

Initial talks have taken place between Alpine and Sergio Perez's camp about a possible Formula 1 race seat for the Mexican driver next season.

Perez dropped off the F1 grid at the end of 2024 after being axed by Red Bull, a few months after agreeing a new contract with the world champion team that was to run until 2026.

As Red Bull lost its on-track advantage, Perez’s results got a lot worse, and after scoring four podiums in the first five events he only finished in the top five once in the remaining 19 races.

At the end of the year, Perez was paid off so Red Bull could replace him with Liam Lawson - who has since been replaced himself by Yuki Tsunoda.

Perez has spent the time since mostly with his family in Guadalajara but wants to evaluate his options for an F1 comeback in the right circumstances.

He is understood to still be training in anticipation of a potential return, and his representatives are engaged in discussions on his behalf.

The most advanced talks have been held with Cadillac, F1’s new 11th team that will join the grid in 2026.

Perez has said a comeback would be “very attractive” if he found “a project that motivates me fully, where the team believes in me and where they appreciate my career, my experience and everything I can bring to a team”.

Cadillac could tick those boxes. As a new team, it would benefit from what Perez brings in terms of his experience of multiple teams including a world championship-winning operation at Red Bull, plus his technical feedback and ability as a proven race winner and consistently good performer when at midfield teams before.

Plus, Perez’s impressive commercial catalogue could be fully exploited at a new, American team, as it is understood there would be more flexibility to bring in different brands compared to when he was at Red Bull.

However, Perez’s representatives are not just in talks with Cadillac. He has a new management set-up now and long-time backer Carlos Slim Domit (pictured below with his wife last year) is still willing to support Perez. To that end, Slim combined an appearance at the Miami Grand Prix with meetings over Perez’s future.

It is understood that, with Perez's camp having made contact with Alpine late last year, a further conversation was had with Alpine executive advisor Flavio Briatore, to scope out whether that could be a destination for Perez next year.

Perez is believed to be very open to that idea as it would obviously be a more competitive prospect than Cadillac, especially in the short-term, which Perez needs to consider given he will turn 36 in January next year.

Although Alpine is not believed to consider Perez a leading contender, it appears open to the idea for now. Its short-term priority is evaluating existing drivers on its roster, with Franco Colapinto replacing Jack Doohan for the next five races as part of that process.

Paul Aron, another young driver on Alpine’s reserve list, is also in the frame.

One factor to consider with Slim and Briatore is whether there would be a way for them to work together even if Perez did not join, so whether Colapinto could join the pool of drivers Slim supports - if not directly, then by bringing him together with other companies.

Last year when Red Bull was considering then-Williams driver Colapinto as a potential option for its roster, it mooted the potential to use Colapinto’s emerging popularity in Latin America as a way to try to keep working with Slim even if Perez left the team.

The same could apply for Alpine, should Colapinto establish himself as Briatore’s clear preference, and should such an arrangement work for Slim and the various brands that he is ultimately in charge of.

Slim is chairman of the board of directors at America Movil, the parent company of Telmex, Telcel, Claro and others.