Sergio Perez Age, Height, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Sergio Perez

• Sergio Perez is a Mexican Formula One racing driver who races for Red Bull Racing. He is known for breaking the record of the most number of starts before winning a race. He won his first race after completing 190 races.

• Sergio Perez was born in a family with a racing background as his father, Antonio Pérez Garibay, was a former racer and now (as of 2021) represents other racers as their manager. Sergio was the third child in the family.
  

  Antonio Garibay after becoming the national champion in 1987

• Antonio was such a huge racing enthusiast that he asked the doctor to move up the scheduled delivery date of his third child as it coincided with the 1990s 24 hours of Daytona. Antonio had a race scheduled for that day and he was leaving with the driver for the race, but he didn’t want to miss his child’s birth and he wanted to be there with his wife to support her so he convinced the doctor to do the delivery by cesarean, putting his wife’s life at risk.

• Sergio’s father was popularly known as Tono in the industry, and he urged both his sons to pursue go-kart racing from a very young age. In 1996, Sergio started his racing journey with go-kart racing at the age of six. His father would tell everyone that Sergio was the best rookie go-kart racer.

• In 1997, Sergio Perez decided to participate in the karting Youth Class event. He was the youngest driver at the event, and he earned a win, five podium finishes, and finished fourth overall in the championship.
  

  Sergio Perez (left) with his brother Antonio Perez

• Sergio continued his career in go-kart racing and slowly moved upwards towards bigger classes of racing. Eventually, Perez moved to the Shifter 125 cc class in racing and finished as the national runner-up. He also competed in the global Shifter 80 cc race and finished in the eleventh position.

• At the age of 14, Sergio fell prey to internal politics, and he was held back from racing at the CART Grand Prix race at Hermanos Rodriguez racetrack in Mexico. This was the time when the Mexican billionaire businessman Carlos Slim Domit, came forward, along with the Mexican telecommunications company Telmex, to offer him a one-time deal. Slim offered his support and asked Perez to never compete in Mexico again, and after some discussion, Perez accepted the offer.
  

  Sergio Perez with Carlos Slim Domit

• Perez moved to the US to compete in the Skip Barber National Championship in 2004. The event was held in the United States, and with the sponsorship of Telmex, Perez managed to finish eleventh in the championship.

• His success at the Skip Barber Championship helped him earn a spot at Germany’s Formula BMW circuit. At the age of 15, Sergio moved to Germany for the race without a return ticket for home. During an interview, Slim talked about Sergio’s dedication and hard work and said,-
  

  If anything has set Checo apart from other drivers who have tried to make it to F1, it’s his attitude. Not just his talent. That attitude that he himself has adopted is real, ‘Never Give Up.’ He has never given up and has always performed well. Always. Nobody has given him anything.”

  

  Sergio Perez at the BMW racing championship in Germany

• After competing in the entry-level classes and go-kart racing for a few years, in 2007, Sergio switched to formula 3 racing and moved to Oxford, England, for a two-year campaign in British Formula 3. In those two years, Sergio won the National Class racing for older chassis in 2007 and finished fourth in the International Class in 2008.

• In 2008, Sergio was promoted to the GP2 feeder series, where he raced for the Campos Grand Prix team in the 2008-09 GP2 Asia Series. He teamed up with the Russian driver Vitaly Petrov and became the first Mexican driver to compete at the Formula 1 seeder series since Giovanni Aloi, who participated in the International Formula 3000 in 1990.
  

  Sergio Perez after winning an F2 race for Campos Grand Prix team

• In October 2010, the Swiss motorsport engineering company, Sauber, announced that Sergio Perez would join the team in 2011. Along with this, Sauber also teamed up with Telmex, who was Sergio’s sponsor. In the same year, he became a part of the Ferarri Driver Academy scheme.

• Perez’s first race was in the Australian Grand Prix, where he impressed the viewers by only stopping once for the pitstop and finished seventh in the race. Later, both the cars from the team were disqualified for breaking some technical regulations.

• In 2011, Sergio Perez got involved in a car crash during the Monaco Grand Prix when he lost control of his car while coming out of a tunnel and crashed into an impact-absorbing tech pro barrier. There were no serious injuries, but he was treated for a concussion and a sprained thigh. A year later, Perez talked about the accident in an interview and said-
  

  Of course I think back to the accident I had in Q3 last year. To me it is like a watershed event in my career. There is a time before and a time after the accident. I learnt a lot from what I had to go through and I think it made me stronger. I really want to show what I can do in Monte Carlo.”

  

  Sergio Perez after his crash in the Monaco Grand Prix

• In 2012, Perez had a disappointing start as he finished the Australian Grand Prix at the thirteenth position due to excessively worn tires. However, at the Malaysian Grand Prix, Sergio competed with the Spanish racing driver Fernando Alonso for the first position. Sergio closed the gap with Fernando, but he went wide on a turn and fell back, finishing second in the race.
  

  Sergio Perez celebrates after finishing second in the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix

• In 2012, he earned his second podium finish after finishing at higher positions in several races. During the Canadian Grand Prix, Perez started the race in the fifteenth position and finished it in third place, earning a podium finish.
  

  Sergio Perez celebrates his podium finish with Lewis Hamilton

• In the 2012 British Grand Prix, Sergio Perez collided with Pastor Maldonado, which led to Perez’s retirement from the race due to a broken suspension. Later, in an interview, he criticized Pastor’s driving and said,-
  

  Everybody has concerns about him. He is a driver who doesn’t know that we are risking our lives and has no respect at all. Just look at the last races. He ruined Hamilton’s race (in Valencia), he ruined my race in Monaco by doing stupid things. I don’t understand why the stewards don’t take a serious decision with him. With Pastor they’re not doing anything that will teach him a lesson.”

  After the race, Pastor Maldonado was charged with a double penalty and €10,000.

• Perez won his third podium finish at the Italian Grand Prix. Perez decided to start his race with hard tires, and before the 29th lap, he decided to switch to medium tires. This tire management technique allowed him to end the race with a podium finish.
  

  Sergio Perez (left) with Lewis Hamilton (center) and Fernando Alonso (right)

• In 2013, Perez joined McLaren for Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton’s replacement and initially faced some hurdles in the Australian GP and Malaysian GP. However, in Bahrain GP, he started twelfth in the lineup and ended up in sixth place. During the race, Perez did some aggressive overtakes, which were not appreciated by his teammate, Jenson Button.

• After an accident at the 2013 Monaco Grand Prix because of his aggressive driving style, Perez faced criticism from fellow racers and teammates after which he decided to leave McLaren. In December 2013, Perez left McLaren and joined Force India as a driver in a 15 million euro deal.

• In 2014, Perez managed to score Force India’s first podium win for the year by holding off Daniel Ricciardo and finishing in third place at the Bahrain Grand Prix. In November 2014, Force India announced that Sergio’s contract with the team had been extended until the end of the 2016 season.
  

  Sergio Perez celebrates his podium finish at the Russian Grand Prix

• In 2015, after having a slow start for the year, Sergio managed to pick up the pace with a podium finish at the Russian Grand Prix. He finished third in the race and finished the 2015 season in ninth place, making it his career’s highest championship position with a total of 78 points.

• In 2016, Perez had a slow initial start of the season as the VJM09 car was not competitive enough as compared to its rivals. After the upgrades in the car, Perez scored the fourth podium finish for Force India. Despite the changing track conditions, Perez managed to earn the podium finish and move up to the ninth rank in the Driver’s Championship standings. In the European Grand Prix, Perez earned another podium finish and stood third in the race. He started at the seventh position in the grid and made his way up to the third position.
  

  Sergio Perez racing in the Force India VJM09 F1 car

• With a podium finish for the year 2016, Perez continued to race for Force India for the 2017 season. Perez was consistent with his highest finish of fourth place in Spanish GP; however, the streak ended when he collided with Daniil Kvyat in Monaco. After a few crashes throughout the season, Perez remained seventh in the championship standings for the rest of the season.

• Sergio Perez was awarded as the ‘Best Latin American driver of 2016’ in 2017 by the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile).
  

  Sergio Perez receiving the Best Latin American driver of 2016 award by FIA

• In 2018, Perex achieved the eighth podium finish of his career at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where he finished third in the race. After several top ten finishes, Force India was put into administration as a group of creditors (including Perez) took legal action against the team for a few bad debts. To save this, Force India’s assets were purchased by a team of investors led by Lawrence Stroll.

• After the resurrection of Force India as Racing Point Force India, Perez and Ocon (his teammate) came back stronger than ever to finish the Belgian Grand Prix in the top ten. However, in the second half of the season, Perez was criticized for his poor performance in Singapore as he collided with his teammate in the opening lap, causing his retirement from the race. Later, in his home race in Mexico, he suffered a brake malfunction and pulled out of the race.
  

  Racing Point Team’s Formula 1 car

• Perez signed a contract extension with the Racing Point team until the end of 2022. However, in September 2020, he announced that he would be leaving the team by the end of 2020. Perez received huge support from his fans and media and former F1 driver and Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin Brundle also supported Perez saying that Red Bull Racing should plan to sign Sergio in the team with Max Verstappen.

• At the Turkish Grand Prix, Perez earned his ninth podium finish by finishing second, along with Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.
  

  Sergio Perez celebrates after his podium finish at the Turkish Grand Prix

• In 2021, Perez replaced Alex Albon in Red Bull Racing, and he made his debut at the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix, finishing in fifth place. At the 2021 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in Italy, Perez qualified for the front row, making it his first-ever front row start in his career.

• Perez took the second win of his career at the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, where he made a strong start and passed Lewis Hamilton to take second place in the race. Later, for the last two laps, he remained in the lead as his teammate Max Verstappen suffered a tire failure in the 47th lap.
  

  Sergio Perez stood first at the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

• Sergio Perez stood third at the 2021 French Grand Prix as he conserved his tires till lap 24, and with the fresher tires in place, he managed to overtake Valtteri Bottas in the second last lap.

• The podium streak ended when he failed to overtake Valtteri Bottas and had to settle in fourth place at the 2021 Styrian Grand Prix in Austria.

• Sergio Perez had to face an unfortunate accident when he crashed his car while going to the grid at the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix. His car was fixed before the race but having missed the qualifying race, Perez had to start from the back. However, the race was red-flagged after just two laps, resulting in 20th position for Perez. Later, he was promoted to 19th as Lance Stroll faced a penalty.

• Sergio Perez is an animal lover, and he has two pet golden retriever dogs.
  

  Sergio Perez with his pet dogs

• Amid the COVID-19 lockdown, Checo Perez ordered a gaming setup for his home to replicate the feel of being in a formula 1 racing car. He would play racing games on the setup, which had a real-life car seat, steering wheel, and pedals for acceleration and brake.
  

  Sergio Perez playing F1 on his home gaming setup

• In 2019, gaming company Codemasters launched the F1 2019 Anniversary Addition videogame for PS4, and the faces of Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton were used on the CD cover cases.
  

  Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton on the cover of F1 2019 videogame

• Sergio’s father and his brother both had been associated with the racing field. However, Sergio treats Brazilian racing driver Ayrton Senna as his role model in racing.
  

  Instagram post made by Sergio Perez for Ayrton Senna

• In his leisure time, Sergio loves playing football with his friends. He has a football team with his friends in Mexico. Apart from football, Sergio also loves playing golf when he is not racing.
  

• Sergio Perez suffers from trypophobia. Trypophobia is a condition in which a person is afraid of a pattern of holes.

• Sergio Perez is fond of reading, and his favourite book is Urbrands by Spanish author Risto Mejide.

• Sergio Perez has a sweet tooth, and he loves all sorts of tiramisu.

• Sergio Perez loves collecting watches, and for every special moment of his life, he bought a watch as a gift for himself.

• With wins in his pocket, Sergio Perez was earning well enough to spend lavishly. When asked about his worst buy during an interview for Formula 1, he said-
  

  The list is long – I don’t know where to start. Ah, I bought an electric helicopter for my dog.”

• Sergio believes in investing his money in stocks to increase his earnings, and the first application that he checks on his phone in the morning is the CNBC app to check the stock market. He said-
  

  I really enjoy looking at the stock market and I even own some stocks too. If you look at it every single day you go through a lot of emotions, one day is very good, one day is very bad, and it’s like with racing, it doesn’t matter what you do, it’s where you finish. Overall I just really like it and generally I think it’s good to investment.”

• During an interview, Sergio was asked what he would have been if he was not an F1 driver to which he replied-
  

  I would like to have been a banker or a lawyer. They both have a lot of adrenaline, similar to the stock market, and that’s what I’d say is similar to racing.”

• In November 2012, Sergio Perez launched the Checo Perez Foundation, which works to support orphans by providing them basic necessities and education and helps children suffering from cancer begin their treatment. Sergio’s sister, Paola, is the president of the foundation.