Max Verstappen has made his feelings clear on Sergio Perez joining Cadillac F1 team

Max Verstappen has made his feelings clear on Sergio Perez as his former Red Bull team-mate prepares to return to Formula 1 with Cadillac.

Perez was announced as a Cadillac driver for their inaugural F1 season in 2026 on Tuesday.

He will be joined at the American team by Valtteri Bottas, with the pair possessing a combined total of over 500 Grand Prix starts.

Cadillac have opted to go for experience over youth for their debut season, with CEO Dan Towriss telling The Athletic: "I think for this inaugural season, for what the team needs, and again, really with what these drivers bring, this was the right combination."

Bottas and Perez have both signed multi-year deals, of undisclosed lengths, with Cadillac.

For both drivers - but perhaps in particular Perez, given the circumstances behind his exit - it offers a second chance in Formula 1 after they were dropped by Sauber and Red Bull respectively at the end of 2024.

Mexican driver Perez failed to finish higher than sixth in any of the final 18 races last season, and was regularly outside of the points.

Verstappen, meanwhile, won his fourth Drivers' Championship with two races to spare.

The two drivers were, however, known to have a mostly positive relationship at Red Bull - and Verstappen endorsed Perez for a return to F1 prior to last month's British Grand Prix.

He told reporters (via PlanetF1): "Checo has always been very strong. Of course, he had some difficult moments with us, but as long as he has the motivation to race, I think he is a very good choice, especially for a new team.

"If you look at his performances at Force India, and Racing Point, you will see that he always scored good points there."

Verstappen's comments were backed up by his former Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley, who is now team principal at Sauber.

"I really enjoyed working with Checo," Wheatley said. "He's a great personality, great attitude to life full stop. I have no doubt about his pace and speed. It's been natural since the beginning."