After the Miami Grand Prix, Sergio Perez, now driving for Cadillac, finished in 16th position and reflected on a challenging weekend for the American team. The Mexican driver highlighted both the difficulties faced and the small positives extracted from the race, particularly after an entertaining late-race battle with Fernando Alonso.
Cadillac’s home Grand Prix weekend in Miami was expected to be a symbolic moment for the team, but instead it turned into another difficult chapter in their early Formula 1 journey. After four races in the season, the team is still yet to score a single point, and Miami once again confirmed the performance gap that remains compared to the midfield. Both Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas struggled in qualifying, starting from the penultimate row of the grid, which immediately limited their chances of fighting for points.
Despite the overall difficult picture, not everything was negative for the American squad. Sergio Perez was the first of the two Cadillac drivers to reach the finish line, ending the race in 16th place just behind Fernando Alonso. Even so, the former Red Bull driver focused on the encouraging aspects of the weekend and the progress made in certain areas.
“Today we raced,” said Sergio Perez after the Grand Prix. “It was really fun fighting with Fernando at the end. Unfortunately, he passed me, but overall it was a good battle and I really enjoyed it. We made the most of the day and learned a lot this weekend. We need to take this package back to the factory, analyse everything and understand which direction to take, but I feel we are not too far away from making a couple of changes here and there and taking another step forward.”
“Qualifying was very promising, as was the Sprint, and the team also did a very good job during my pit stop, so there are real flashes of potential. Overall, things are moving in the right direction,” he added.
Looking back at the closing stages of the race, Sergio Perez also took the time to praise Fernando Alonso after their on-track duel, highlighting the respect between the two experienced drivers.
“I hope Aston Martin doesn’t improve, because racing with Alonso is always amazing. It is clean and intelligent,” said Sergio Perez with a smile after the race.
Even though Cadillac’s results remain far from competitive in terms of points, the team is beginning to identify small areas of progress across race execution, pit stops and qualifying performance. For Sergio Perez, the Miami Grand Prix was another learning experience, with the focus now shifting towards development work in the factory and preparation for the next stages of the season.
This weekend in Florida underscores Cadillac’s ongoing adaptation to the grid, as the team balances the search for their first points with the development of their inaugural technical package. While the final standings remain disappointing, the competitive spirit shown by Perez in his battle with Alonso indicates that the team is successfully identifying the small margins needed to climb into the midfield.
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