Sergio Perez ally dismisses major unknown over F1 comeback

Sergio Perez's former team principal Otmar Szafnauer has given his emphatic backing to the Mexican potentially returning to F1.  Perez is currently off the grid, having lost his Red Bull seat at the end of 2024 following an abysmal campaign alongside Max Verstappen in which he scored just 48 points in the final 18 races.  The Mexican has been heavily linked with a potential return with the new Cadillac team for 2026, but questions over whether he could return to the level which made him the winner of six grands prix and regarded as one of the best midfield drivers.  Szafnauer worked with Perez at Force India between 2014-2018, and then Racing Point between mid-2018 and 2020, with Perez earning his first win at the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix under Szafnauer's leadership. Reflecting on Perez, Szafnauer felt he could definitely make a return to grand prix racing, and at a competitive level.  "Should Checo be back? He's good enough, yes," Szafnauer told Formula.Hu.  "When he drove for me, he had all the fighting spirit, the qualities, the  skills.  "I think he had that at the beginning of Red Bull as well. Towards the end, maybe he took his eye off the ball a little bit, but let's not forget that he was up against Max  "He's a great racer, he rarely makes mistakes, and he's great on the tyre  management.  "Those are his strengths. His weaknesses? I mean, I wasn't at Red Bull, but when he was with us, he was really, really good."  "I think for a guy like Checo, with all that experience behind him, it's not that  hard to make a comeback, not that hard at all."