Sergio Pérez took the mound at Dodger Stadium to deliver the ceremonial first pitch ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers game against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Mexican driver met the players ahead of the game and spoke briefly on his interest in Major League Baseball before adding that if he were an MLB player, he would want to be most like Shohei Ohtani.
“It’s very special to be here with a team that has given so much to so many Mexicans—especially with ‘El Toro’ (Fernando Valenzuela), who was very special to this club. All the Mexicans who have been here make us proud; you feel that Mexican blood in this team.”
He added: “I like coming to games—they’re very long—but honestly I don’t follow baseball that closely. Still, invitations like this and meeting athletes like these are always special.” When pressed on which MLB player he would choose to be, Pérez concluded: “I hope like Shohei Ohtani.”
Ohtani, the Dodgers’ two-way superstar, signed a landmark 10-year, $700million deal with the Dodgers. After a successful 2024 in which he won the NL MVP, he has carried this momentum into 2025 with over 25 home runs. Pérez hopes to replicate this success with the new American F1 team.
Sergio Perez at the Los Angeles Dodgers
Photo by: Luke Hales / Getty Images
Pérez has a busy programme of factory visits as he readies himself for a return to the grid in 2026 with the Cadillac Formula 1 team.
“Next week I’ll be at the factory in Charlotte and in England. I’ll be on the simulator next week, and the plan is also for me to test a Formula 1 car—first to work and be as prepared as possible for the start of the year, and second because it’s important for me to drive something this year for all the sensations—especially for the neck and the physical side—to give my body a reminder of what’s coming.
“Before we know it, it’ll be January, and in January we’ll have our car and be working with the team,” he said.
Comparing baseball to F1 and the pressure he feels as the race start nears on a Sunday, the former Red Bull driver pointed to the relaxed nature of the lead-up to a baseball game.
“One big difference is how relaxed they are before the game—maybe because it’s earlier. In F1 you do warm-up laps, you’re on the grid, and once you get into the zone, the atmosphere is very different.
“It’s similar in that you can chat with an F1 driver two hours before a race, but 10 minutes before they’re in the zone, and you don’t want to bother them. It’s similar across sports.”