Perez and Hill highlight the mental strain and leadership demands of F1

Two separate conversations this week circle the same theme from different angles: in modern Formula 1, the job is as much psychological as it is mechanical.

Sergio Perez has spoken about the mental toll of partnering Max Verstappen at Red Bull, revealing that he sought help from a psychologist after the team repeatedly suggested his on-track struggles were rooted in mental rather than purely sporting issues. According to the Motorsport.com report, Perez — who returned to the F1 grid with Cadillac in 2026 after a year out — has now given fresh detail on how turbulent that period was and how heavily the experience weighed on him.

That matters because it shows how quickly a driver can become caught in a difficult feedback loop. When results dip, pressure rises; when pressure rises, the explanation can start to shift from the car or the circumstances to the driver’s own mindset. Perez’s account does not claim every problem was psychological, but it does show that the psychological dimension became impossible to ignore. In a sport where the margins are tiny and the scrutiny is constant, that can become part of the performance story just as much as lap time or tyre wear.

Damon Hill’s contribution points to another side of the same coin. The Motorsport.com piece says the 1996 Formula 1 champion said he realised “a little bit too late” in his own career how important it is for a driver to actively galvanise the workforce around them. In the same report, Hill points to figures such as Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel as benchmarks: not simply drivers who were fast, but drivers who could help shape the mood, direction and confidence of the people working around the car.