The Mexican driver recently starred in a commercial for H20 Power, one of his many sponsors, which used him as the face of its Sergio Perez Edition energy drink. However, the advert quickly attracted attention online, with several social media users expressing doubts about it.
The discussion proved particularly popular on Reddit, where the post attracted hundreds of comments from users who pointed out several suspicious moments throughout the promotional clip. One user, for example, claimed that “at 23 seconds I’m pretty sure they have a twin of Perez running down the steps with the crowd.”
Another highlighted what appeared to be a visual inconsistency later in the video, noting that half a minute into the ad that cyclists turn into runners and the other way around, as a helmet also transforms into hair.
A reply to that comment was even more direct, with one user writing: “At first I thought maybe it just has an uncanny valley vibe because of some weird smoothing/color grading, but nope. It’s just straight-up AI generated.” Another user pointed to what they believed was another giveaway, writing that “when there’s the shot of the cans being cracked open at the end, the front left can closes back up.”
One user working in marketing offered a broader perspective on the issue, writing: “Marketing teams are mostly well aware that this is awful. But our bosses love it, because it saves us time (it doesn’t, after AI does a job I have to redo that same job).”
Comments continued to flood in across social media platforms, while the comment section under the original advert on the brand’s Instagram page appears currently disabled.
Perez insists he’s still ‘one of the best out there’
However, Perez argued that performances cannot be judged without understanding the circumstances surrounding them. He believes his recent form has demonstrated that his speed never disappeared, but rather that the environment around a driver can play a crucial role in unlocking their full potential. He admitted that his struggles at Red Bull inevitably affected his confidence, but his perspective changed after quickly finding his footing in different machinery. That experience convinced him that the problems he had previously encountered were not solely down to his driving.
The Mexican finally added that his recent displays in qualifying and race trim have provided further proof that he remains capable of performing at a high level. Perez also believes his story serves as a reminder that drivers often face challenges beyond their control and should not be too quick to question their own talent when results are not going their way.