If you follow Formula 1 even casually, you’ve heard the name Checo. Sergio Michel “Checo” Pérez is the Guadalajara-born racer who carved out a 14-season F1 career on tire wizardry, late-race heroics, and a knack for podiums when the odds looked terrible. He’s also the headline signing for Cadillac’s brand-new F1 team in 2026, which makes his story very now and very worth knowing.
Checo was born January 26, 1990, in Guadalajara, Mexico, and started karting at six. He blitzed the junior ladder through British F3 and GP2, finishing runner-up in the 2010 GP2 season before stepping up to Formula 1 with Sauber in 2011. The early calling card was tire management. Races like Malaysia 2012 put him on every team’s radar and eventually led to stints with McLaren, Force India, Racing Point, and Red Bull. He became a six-time Grand Prix winner and 2023 World Drivers’ Championship runner-up.
© Getty ImagesThe records that define his arc
Pérez isn’t just consistent. He owns the F1 record for most starts before a first win at 190, finally breaking through at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix. He also holds the record for most races before a first pole position at 219, set with a stunning lap in Saudi Arabia in 2022. Those two stats sum up Checo perfectly: relentless, patient, and impossible to count out
Red Bull signed Pérez for 2021 to partner Max Verstappen. He delivered immediately with wins in Baku 2021 plus Monaco and Singapore 2022, then leveled up in 2023 by finishing runner-up in the championship. After a winless and turbulent 2024, he and Red Bull agreed to part ways at season’s end, ending a four-year chapter that still produced two Constructors’ titles for the team and some legendary teamwork moments, per the official F1 website.
© Getty ImagesCadillac F1 in 2026
Cadillac is entering F1 in 2026 as the 11th team, and they’ve gone experience-first with Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as their launch driver lineup. The project grew out of the post-Andretti restructuring with GM’s Cadillac brand front and center. The team secured approval in 2025, will base operations in the United States, and is expected to start with a customer power unit before GM brings its own. For year one, the boxing score reads like two savvy race winners, a deep American manufacturer push, and a ton of buzz.
© Formula 1 via Getty ImagesCheco’s signature is racecraft. He babysits tires longer than rivals, flips strategy windows, and defends as if his car is five meters wider. That blend of craft and cool is exactly why a newcomer like Cadillac wants him leading development miles and Sunday execution.
What about his Cadillac salary
Official numbers aren’t public. Multiple outlets in late August and early September report a base figure around 10 million dollars per season with performance bonuses, while some estimates float higher, dependent on incentives and endorsements. The safe read right now is a mid-eight-figure total over the life of the deal if targets are met. Cadillac is investing like a team that wants results fast.
© Getty ImagesCheco is a proven points machine with a massive audience pull in Mexico and the U.S. Southwest. Cadillac gets results, stability, bilingual star power, and a bridge to sponsors across the Americas. Pérez gets a clean slate and leadership status at a work-backed project with serious ambitions. Pairing him with Bottas adds a second benchmark for setup direction and car feedback, which is gold for a first-season program.
