Sergio Perez has issued a cautionary assessment of Cadillac’s early Formula 1 performance, expressing concerns that the American team could fall behind in the sport’s relentless development race despite showing promising signs in their debut campaign. The Mexican driver, who joined Cadillac alongside Valtteri Bottas for the team’s inaugural 2026 season, believes urgent improvements are needed to maintain their current competitive position.
After four rounds of the 2026 championship, Cadillac has exceeded initial expectations by regularly battling with Aston Martin rather than being consigned to the back of the grid. The team managed to split the Aston Martin drivers during the Miami Grand Prix, demonstrating their potential to compete in the midfield despite being Formula 1’s newest entrant.
“There is a bit of work to do there, but I’m confident that we are heading in the right direction,” Perez told media, including Motorsport Week. However, he emphasized the urgency of finding performance gains, stating: “Still, [it is] a long season, but obviously, we are in a massive hurry to find performance, because we know that Aston is going to be improving, and we don’t want to left behind.”
The veteran driver highlighted tire degradation as Cadillac’s primary weakness, explaining that while the team can initially match the midfield pace, they struggle to maintain performance as the stint progresses. “I can see at times, as soon as the degradation starts to keep enough, we can be with the midfield, but they are just able to pick up the pace quite a lot,” he noted.
Despite acknowledging the challenges ahead, Perez expressed satisfaction with the competitive battles, particularly praising his encounters with Fernando Alonso. “We’re having fun with them. Especially fighting Fernando is always a great thing, because races very fair,” he said, while admitting strategic mistakes in tire selection during recent races.
Looking ahead to the Canadian Grand Prix, Perez stressed that understanding their current package will be crucial for progress. “We don’t have much time, but I think one of the short-term things that we need to do is to fix the degradation. We have some ideas there, but just putting all the ideas together will be the biggest work in the coming weeks for the team,” he concluded, underlining the developmental challenge facing Cadillac as they establish themselves in Formula 1’s competitive landscape.