The renaissance of Red Bull's Sergio Perez

In his 11th season, Sergio Perez knows the curves, seemingly every one of them now, of Formula One driving.

But during Sunday's Mexico City Grand Prix at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the 31-year-old driver gave his adoring home fans a sight they had never seen before. With his third-place finish, "Checo" became the first Mexican driver to finish on the podium at a Mexico Grand Prix.

"Being on the podium at your home Grand Prix is something very special," said Perez, who finished behind only race winner and Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen and Mercedes' driver Lewis Hamilton.

"Obviously I wanted more. I wanted to win the race and obviously to finish one-two for the team would have been amazing, you know."

His finish in Mexico was Perez's fifth podium of the year, more than he's had in any other season of his career. The result is also part of a continued renaissance for a veteran driver who a year ago was in danger of leaving Formula One.

Perez's road to Red Bull

At this point last year, Perez's driving future looked bleak. Racing Point, which would soon rebrand to Aston Martin under Canadian investor Lawrence Stroll, had announced in September 2020 that four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel would join the outfit from Ferrari and take Perez's seat.

With Formula One was appearing to get younger, and on the wrong side of 30, Perez seemed to be on his way out of auto racing's highest class. That was before he put together one of the greatest race stretches of his career.

In November 2020, he fought to a second place finish at the Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul, his first podium in more than two years. Then in Bahrain three weeks later, he overcame a first-lap collision with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, an incident that saw him drop to last place in the race, to win the Sakhir Grand Prix.

"After the first lap the race was again gone," said Perez of the race, which was his first victory in his 190th start. "But it was all about not giving up, recovering, going for it, just making the best of what you possibly could.

"I hope I'm not dreaming you know because I dreamed so many years of being in this moment. Ten years, ten years it took me. Incredible."

That seemed to be enough to convince Red Bull, looking for a new partner for superstar Max Verstappen.

Red Bull risk

Red Bull may have saved Perez a possible early retirement, but it was never a sure-fire path to success. Since Daniel Ricciardo left the team in 2018, his replacement Pierre Gasly lasted only 12 races in 2019 before returning to Red Bull's second outfit Torro Rosso. Alexander Albon then replaced Gasly, but he also was let go after one and a half seasons after failing to impress, opening the door for Perez.

The Mexican driver was aware his new ride might be a difficult match for his considerable-but-steady driving and tire management skills. Red Bull's cars have been built around the aggressive style epitomized by Verstappen.

But after some rocky moments in 2021, Perez enters the final four races of the season fourth in the standings. He even picked up his second career race win with Red Bull, a victory at the Grand Prix of Azerbaijan.

Red Bull confirmed Perez as one of its two drivers for the 2022 season in August, and his third place finish in Mexico City, cheered on by almost 140,000 fans, has further cemented his status with the Austrian outfit. A veteran of the ups and downs of Formula One and a driver nearly forced to take this year off, Perez knows to enjoy the ride for as long as he's got one.

"Today is one of those days that I must enjoy because of the crowd and seeing so many people so happy."