Cadillac left the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix without points once again, but Sergio Perez believes the Madrid weekend still offered some encouraging signs for Formula 1’s newest team. While Valtteri Bottas finished 18th and last among the classified runners, Perez had climbed to 15th and was fighting with the cars around him before a suspected cooling-system problem forced his retirement.
The result means Cadillac remains the only team yet to score a point in its debut Formula 1 season. Neither Bottas nor Perez has managed to finish inside the top 10 so far, underlining how much ground the American team still needs to make up before it can become a regular midfield contender.
Valtteri Bottas struggles through difficult Spanish GP
It was another demanding weekend for Cadillac at the new Madring circuit, with Bottas the only one of its two drivers to reach the chequered flag. The Finnish driver’s race was compromised further by contact at the start, which caused problems on his MAC-26.
Bottas eventually finished 18th, the final classified driver, three laps behind race winner Kimi Antonelli.
“Unfortunately there wasn’t much action for me today,” Valtteri Bottas said. “I was hoping for something more, but we knew the race pace was going to be difficult and the race turned out to be challenging.”
“We had to manage the brake temperatures for a long time and the characteristics of this track highlight many of our weaknesses; however, we know where we need to improve and we’ll keep working on it.”
Cadillac has already introduced substantial development during its first season, including its biggest upgrade package of 2026 in Austria, but the team has yet to convert those efforts into a championship point.
Sergio Perez sees encouraging signs before technical retirement
Perez suffered an even more disappointing outcome in terms of the final result, although his race offered more reasons for optimism. The Mexican climbed as high as 15th during the opening stages and was able to compete directly with several midfield rivals.
His afternoon ended on lap 33, when he returned the car to the garage with what was believed to be a problem with the cooling system.
“Our race was going very well until the moment when we encountered a problem, probably with the cooling system,” Sergio Perez said. “I think it was one of the best weekends so far for the team: we pushed to the maximum in every area.”
“We fought with the cars around us, keeping Tsunoda behind before the pit stop and having a constant battle with the Williams cars; we stayed within less than a second of Albon, so we can be satisfied with how the race was going.”
Cadillac still searching for its first Formula 1 points
The contrast between the two cars summed up Cadillac’s Madrid weekend. Bottas reached the finish but lacked the pace to challenge for the points, while Perez appeared more competitive before reliability prevented him from seeing how far that progress could take him.
Cadillac therefore leaves Spain still on zero points, but Perez’s ability to race against established midfield teams offered at least a small indication that the performance gap may be beginning to narrow. Turning those isolated signs into consistent competitiveness, however, remains the team’s biggest challenge as its first Formula 1 season continues.
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