14/07/2025 16:10
Nigel Mansell has backed Sergio Perez to make a "deserved" return
to the grid next season in one of the two available Cadillac
seats. Perez has been a rumoured leading contender for one of the
spots at Cadillac ever since it was granted the 11th team spot, as
has current Mercedes reserve driver Valtteri Bottas. Since parting
ways with Red Bull at the end last season, Perez is yet to make a
return to motorsport but has outlined his intent on making an F1
comeback. His departure from the pinnacle of motorsport came after
a dreadful 2024 campaign, which saw him unable to support Max
Verstappen in the team's bid to defend the constructors' title.
Perez was a shadow of the driver he was in 2023, where he sealed
second in the drivers' standings and helped Red Bull score a
record-breaking 860 points. Mansell, the 1992 F1 champion, is
unsure what exactly Cadillac is after for its first F1 driver
pairing, but would like to see Perez handed a second chance. "It
depends on the team principals and their mandate for the first
couple of years. It will be a steep leaning curve," Mansell told
wettfreunde. "There's only very few people who know the business
side of F1 inside out so you've got to have some people steering
the ship that know what they're doing otherwise you can end up
spending a fortune in money and go the wrong way and you won't be
competitive. "You can be made to look a very serious underdog and
you're floundering and thinking - 'was this a good idea?'
"Hopefully there's some clever people there who plan their strategy
well. They need in the first year some experienced drivers to give
them feedback so they know what they need to be as competitive as
they can be. "Checo Perez deserves another opportunity. He's very
experienced and the year before last he drove superbly and helped
Max enormously to win the title. There's one for you. I'm not sure
whether America may want an American driver too."
