Sergio Perez remains confident in Cadillac’s long-term progress despite another difficult Formula 1 weekend in Singapore, where the new American team once again finished outside the points. The Mexican believes the team has established strong operational foundations, but admitted that Cadillac still needs to find roughly one to one and a half seconds of performance to fight the cars ahead.
Cadillac’s search for its first points of the 2026 season will therefore continue into the next stage of the championship. Its next opportunity will come at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, the team’s home race, before Sergio Perez competes in front of his home crowd in Mexico City.
Sergio Perez says Cadillac has built solid foundations
Singapore proved to be another complicated weekend for Cadillac. The American newcomer once again failed to score, with Sergio Perez eventually finishing 17th.
Despite the result, the former Red Bull driver took encouragement from the structure the team has built during its debut campaign and stressed that its operational work is already at a strong level.
“I think we are in a solid position thanks to the foundations we have built so far,” Sergio Perez said. “Operationally, we are solid and the team has done a great job; we can be satisfied.”
However, the Mexican was equally clear about the scale of the performance deficit Cadillac still needs to overcome.
“We are still about one second or one and a half seconds away from being able to compete with the cars ahead of us, and I think what we really need now is a more competitive car. Everything else is going according to plan and I am confident that, as a team, we will achieve our objectives.”
Austin and Mexico carry extra significance for Perez and Cadillac
The next two rounds will carry particular importance for both Cadillac and Sergio Perez. Formula 1 heads first to the 2026 United States Grand Prix in Austin, which represents the American team’s home event, before moving on to Mexico City.
For Perez, the Mexican Grand Prix will be even more significant because he is set to reach the milestone of 300 Formula 1 Grands Prix in front of his home supporters.
“I can’t wait for Austin and Mexico, our two home races: Austin for the team, while Mexico will be particularly special for me because I will be racing in front of my home crowd and reaching the milestone of 300 Grands Prix. It will be a truly unique weekend.”
After Mexico, Formula 1 will continue its run through the Americas with races in Brazil and Las Vegas.
Valtteri Bottas says Cadillac still lacks race pace
Valtteri Bottas also endured a difficult Singapore Grand Prix, finishing 19th and underlining the challenging phase Cadillac is currently going through.
Nevertheless, the Finn found one positive in simply getting both cars to the chequered flag after reliability problems had made that far from guaranteed in recent races.
“It is positive to have brought both cars to the finish; recently that was not something we could take for granted at all, so I see that as a positive,” Valtteri Bottas said.
Bottas explained that Cadillac’s decision to start on the Medium tyres did not work as hoped, with the team losing ground during the opening stint.
“We started on the Medium tyres, which in the first stint did not perform as we expected, so we lost ground. In general, we are lacking pace, especially in the race: that is our weakness and we are trying to understand what is causing it.”
Cadillac already turning attention towards its next car
With no major upgrades having been introduced, Valtteri Bottas acknowledged that there is no immediate solution to Cadillac’s performance problems.
“We know we have not introduced any major upgrades, so there are no magic solutions. We simply have to keep looking ahead, focusing in particular on next year’s car.”
That leaves Cadillac balancing two priorities over the closing phase of the 2026 season: continuing to chase its first championship points while also building towards a more competitive package for the future.
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