Rubens Barrichello has issued support to Sergio Perez following the Mexican's exit from Red Bull.
Perez endured a difficult final campaign with the Milton Keynes-based squad, leading to his departure from the team at the end of the 2024 campaign.
Liam Lawson was promoted in his place but the New Zealander lasted just two rounds before being ousted in favour of Yuki Tsunoda.
While Tsunoda has offered improved results, he too has struggled alongside Max Verstappen since his arrival last month.
However, Barrichello has acknowledged he got his assessment of Perez wrong after seeing his successors also struggle behind the wheel at Red Bull.
“Being in the sister car to Max Verstappen is the toughest job in F1,” he told PokerScout. “There's a lot of pressure in it.
“Unfortunately, you don't get the respect when you perform in that role.
“I honestly believed, from the bottom of my heart, that Sergio Perez was not the right person to drive alongside Verstappen at Red Bull, but he ended up doing so well.
“Perez showed he's the right person to do that role. He won Monaco with Verstappen as his teammate.
“Red Bull may have waited too long to get rid of him, but he proved a lot of people wrong.
“When I see people talking badly about Perez, I defend him now, he did so well. Red Bull needed a change and Perez needed it too.”
Perez has been linked with a return to the grid in 2026, with Cadillac and even Alpine rumoured as potential destinations for the 35-year-old.
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