Checo Pérez to Join Ferrari for 24 Hours of Le Mans?
After leaving Red Bull Racing a few days ago, there is a lot of speculation about Sergio “Checo” Pérez’s future in motorsports.
The Mexican driver, who’s currently 34, has no F1 team as he left the Milton Keynes’ team with the 2025 grid almost defined. Now, the 2023 F1 runner-up seems to have some options out of the main competition. One of them is very attractive, for himself, as well as racing fans.
International racing media sites have reported Checo is currently in negotiations to join Ferrari and compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. If the agreement is confirmed, he would drive in four or five races of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
Even though Checo Pérez was part of the Ferrari Academy before getting his first chance in F1 with Sauber, this would be the first time driving for Ferrari at the highest level.
Checo doesn’t think about the Triple Crown
The Triple Crown in motorsports is one of the biggest and most difficult achievements to win for a driver. It consists of winning the F1 Monaco Grand Prix, the Indianapolis 500 race in Indycar, and the WEC’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. For some people, winning the F1 Drivers’ Championship works as an alternative option to winning in Monaco.
Pérez racing in Le Mans could lead to a lot of expectation, as it would open up the possibility for him to fight to win his second race of the Triple Crown. He already won the Monaco GP with Red Bull in 2022, while Ferrari won this year’s Monaco and Le Mans races.
Pérez expressed plenty of interest in competing in endurance races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans and 24 Hours of Daytona but also said during an interview with Motorsport.com that he’s not interested in joining the IndyCar Series right now, so racing in the Indianapolis 500 would not be an option.
He also stated he’s looking for a less exhausting schedule, competing in just a few races each year. Pérez also cited safety concerns over high-speed crashes with “not very experienced” drivers.
Triple Crown Winners
In history, only one driver has won these three races: Graham Hill. The British racing driver won five times in Monaco between 1963 and 1969, the Indy 500 in 1966, and Le Mans in 1972. He also won the F1 Championship in 1962 and 1968.
Currently, only two active drivers have won two of the three achievements required for the Triple Crown, the first one being Juan Pablo Montoya, Colombian driver who won the Monaco GP in 2003 and the Indy 500 in 2000 and 2015.
The second driver on this list is current F1 driver, Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard won the Monaco GP in 2006 and 2007 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2017 and 2018. He also won the F1 Championship in 2005 and 2006.
Checo’s Legacy in F1
Looking back at Checo’s legacy in F1, the Mexican driver competed in F1 from 2011 to 2024, driving for Sauber, McLaren, Force India, Racing Point and Red Bull.
He ended with six victories, including an extraordinary win with Racing Point in the Sakhir GP in 2020, while the rest were won during his spell at Red Bull.
He also got 39 podiums, three at Sauber, seven at Force India/Racing Point, and 29 at Red Bull.
Pérez ended the 2022 season in the third position of the F1 Drivers’ Championship, getting a second-place season finish in 2023 while also winning two Constructors’ championships in the same years at Red Bull.
He became the most successful driver in Mexico and the fifth Latin American to win the Monaco GP. He also earned the first podium for a local driver in the Mexican GP, ending in third position in 2021 and 2022.
Now, he’s set to start a new chapter in his racing career after leaving F1.
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