Perez CONFIRMED For F1 Return As Russell Puts Future IN DOUBT!

With the F1 world enjoying its summer shutdown, most of the current grid will be on a beach somewhere and engineers will be taking the chance to see their families. But the powers that run some of the teams will be very busy, specifically those who don't have a full driver lineup for next season. The summer break is usually the time when those gaps in the rosters start getting finalized and for a few teams they have a lot of work to do. Mercedes, despite having two drivers that they've now decided they want to keep, still have no one signed for next year. Cadillac, with a first ever season in F1 beginning in just six months, wants to get some drivers signed so they can start working their simulators. Both of them will be very keen to get their work done during the summer break and one team has made the first move. Today I'll check out Checo's return to Formula One and fill you in on George Russell's doubts about a new Mercedes contract, so don't go anywhere. There has been lots of interest in the Cadillac F1 team as they come in as the 11th F1 team on the grid next season. With a General Motors-made engine on the way as well, the team will follow Audi and become a brand new factory outfit, potentially providing another seriously competitive team in the future. Historically, factory outfits, meaning those that build their own chassis and engine, have been the best performing teams in the sport and usually outperform those who buy engines off others, though there have been exceptions. Currently, Alpine are a factory team who have consistently performed poorly, while McLaren are a customer team who are dominating this season. Having an 11th team on the grid is also great from a driver perspective. An extra team means two extra seats, which means the potential for the return of some old favourites, and Cadillac has pulled the trigger on bringing one of F1's most followed drivers back to the sport. According to multiple well-placed sources, Sergio Perez is set to return to Formula 1 in 2026, with an announcement on his future expected in the coming weeks. The Mexican driver is set to rejoin the grid after sitting out the F1 2025 season, following Red Bull's decision to part ways with him at the conclusion of last year. As an experienced hand in Formula 1, with a career going all the way back to 2011, Cadillac have decided that he is a driver that they want to help them compete in their first season. Planet F1 have been reporting that the official announcement will come at the second race back after the summer break, at Monza on the 7th of September. However, after Thomas Mayer broke the news first on Tuesday this week, Cadillac might decide to pull the trigger on the announcement before then. Mayer has been a source of reliable news and inside information at Red Bull for many years now, and maintained good ties with Sergio Perez after the Mexican left the team last season. In recent months, backed by a new manager, Perez has explored a number of options to return to the Formula 1 grid, with communication maintained with Cadillac throughout the year. While Sergio may have had a bad final season and a half with Red Bull, he is a fantastic driver. His highlights are as good as any in the sport, including that unbelievable race that earned him his seat at Red Bull at the Sakhir Grand Prix in 2020. When Red Bull let him go at the end of 2024, opinions on Perez were at an all-time low. In that final season, he scored just over a third of the points tally of Max Verstappen in the sister RB20. However, this season, his stock has risen massively, despite not actually having a seat on the grid. His two replacements, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, have struggled for pace and consistency, and even Verstappen's performances have started to drop, as two years of upgrades, which have made the car less and less stable, have finally started to make a serious impact. Now, Checo's perceived underperformance is being seen in a new light, and the recency bias of that final season at Red Bull has started to fade. He is still a very good driver, he was just the foreman for a team making very bad decisions. When asked about what he made of Perez's ambitions to return to the sport next season, ex-Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley had this to say. Firstly, I really enjoyed working with Checo. He's a great personality, great attitude to life, full stop. I have no doubt about his pace and his speed. It's been natural since the beginning. He put in some tremendous drives at my former team, and I don't think it's much of a barrier that he's had a bit of time off between driving a Formula 1 car, because when you know how to do that, you know how to do it. While Perez may be confirmed for Cadillac next season, the team have two seats, which means there is another driver yet to come. Last month, Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowden revealed they are in advancing discussions with a number of drivers, one of whom we now know was Perez. The addition of two new seats to the F1 grid from next year has, according to Lowden, led to Cadillac being contacted by a long list of very, very good drivers who were keen since their entry was confirmed in March. Alongside Perez, one of the strong favourites from that long list of very, very good drivers has been Valtteri Bottas. Bottas, who is currently a third driver at Mercedes after losing his Sauber seat at the end of last season, caused a stir on social media last month when he posted a video of himself next to a Cadillac road car and posed the question, do we like this seat? Many thought in the immediate aftermath that it was a tease by Bottas that an announcement would be coming soon, but since then, there's been no more news on the 10-time race winner's future. Former Sauber driver Joe Guagnu and Aston Martin reserve Felipe Drogovic have also been linked with Cadillac. If Cadillac decides that they want to sign an American driver, it's widely believed that it will be 20-year-old Jack Crawford, who's enjoying his best Formula 2 campaign yet after With the news that Cadillac will be announcing Sergio Perez after the summer break, it's likely that we won't have long to wait until we find out who's going to be sitting alongside him. However, Cadillac is not the only team that's currently driverless for next season. Before I talk about Mercedes, George Russell and the fallout from the Verstappen saga, if you're enjoying the video and want to catch more news and analysis from this F1 season, then make sure to press the like button and subscribe to F1 Reverse. Thanks a lot. Speculation around Max Verstappen's future over the past six months will have caused some discomfort in Russell and Antonelli's camps. When Verstappen confirmed ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix at the end of last month that he would be remaining at Red Bull, that was the end of Toto Wolff's very public pursuit of the four-time world champion. Verstappen has a Red Bull contract until 2028, but whether he'll carry on past the next season is uncertain as it is understood to have performance clauses. If Red Bull don't perform well in the new regulations, something entirely possible as it's their first season building their own engine, then Verstappen will likely head elsewhere for 2027, probably taking his pick of the best performing teams from 2026. Due to that, Toto Wolff will want to make sure he has a seat available, and that makes his contract talks with George Russell very awkward. Antonelli has been raised by Mercedes to drive in Formula 1, and they will want to give him at least a few seasons to see if he can turn into the driver they think he is. That means that George Russell will likely be the man to make way for Verstappen. In Hungary, Russell insisted it was a matter of when, not if, he's given a new deal, having raced for the Brackley-based outfit for what is now a fourth season. George, however, has been clear that he wants a long-term deal to secure his future. Mercedes, though, are probably more interested in offering him a one-year deal, with the option for more after, leaving them free to sign Verstappen if the opportunity is there. The pursuit of Verstappen has been making Russell question his future with the team. Asked before the summer break whether he is expecting a one-year or multi-year deal, Russell replied with a hint that he may look elsewhere if offered a short-term deal. I mean, it's something we need to think about. What is in the interest of both parties, really? What do I want from this? As much as what do Mercedes want? There has been, obviously, a bit of a unique situation we found ourselves in over these last six months. The fact is, from my side, I want to win. That is the only thing I care about. More than money, more than number of days I lose sponsorship, more than anything, I want to win. And that, for me, is the most important thing about my future. In the short term, a 2026 season at Mercedes probably gives Russell a good chance of winning. But beyond that? Well, if Mercedes aren't going to back him with a long contract, then he might start to look elsewhere for 2027, and potentially find a drive somewhere he can win it all. His fantastic performances this season have certainly caught the eye of the rest of the grid, and a third-place finish behind the McLarens will only raise his stock further. Do you think Checo will perform well for Cadillac? And what do you think will happen with Russell and Mercedes? Let me know your thoughts in the comments down below. And until next time, drive safe and bye for now.