Sergio Perez rebukes Mario Andretti over 'rusty' Cadillac F1 concern.
"To be honest, I think we've been performing on a very high level," Perez told the media, including RacingNews365, ahead of the Japanese GP when presented with Andretti's comments.
9 Apr 2026
Jake Nichol & Sàndor Mészáros
RacingNews365

Cadillac director Mario Andretti recently claimed that both the team's drivers were "rusty", with Sergio Perez refuting that. Sergio Perez has dismissed concerns from Cadillac F1 director Mario Andretti that he and team-mate Valtteri Bottas are "rusty".

"I was especially happy with my weekend in Melbourne, my first qualifying and was quite happy with the race. We had very different scenarios; we had a lot of damage, so it really hasn't been straightforward.”

"I had a lot of damage and deployment issues in Shanghai, so I haven't had a complete weekend, let's say. But I think in terms of my performance, I'm fairly happy with it, coming back and straight away, I was on the pace in a couple of days, and I believe I am in a good place in regards to driving."

‘Sergio Perez rebukes Mario Andretti’;

https://racingnews365.com/sergio-per...lac-f1-concern


‘Rusty, me?’: Perez fires back at Andretti’s Cadillac claim
05/04/2026
Phillip van Osten
F1i.com

At last weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, Perez stood his ground, attributing his lack of points not to "rust," but to the brutal reality of racing a debutant car plagued in the openings round by technical gremlins and heavy in-race damage.

“To be honest I think we've been performing on a very high level,” the six-time grand prix winner insisted. “I was very happy with my weekend in Melbourne, my first qualifying, I was quite happy with it. In the race we had very different scenarios, we had a lot of damage.”

For Perez, the "pace" is already there; the "luck" simply hasn't followed. “I haven't had a complete weekend let's say, but I think in terms of my performance I'm fairly happy with it. Coming back and straight away I was on the pace within a couple of days. I believe I'm in a good place in regards to driving.”

‘Perez fires back’;

https://f1i.com/news/562518-rusty-me...lac-claim.html


Sergio Perez issues Cadillac demand ahead of 'biggest test'
Cadillac has spent the opening F1 weekends of the season getting up to speed - but now it is targeting steps forward.
7 Apr 2026
Fergal Walsh & Sàndor Mészáros
RacingNews365

Sergio Perez has expressed hope that Cadillac will bring a significant car upgrade to the upcoming Miami round. However, Perez outlined that Cadillac needs to find substantial lap time to keep up with the competition, and hopes it can deliver in Miami, which hosts round four of the season at the start of May.

“It’s clear that we need a second now,” he said. “And I really hope that we are bringing a big upgrade for Miami, and that will be the biggest test for the team. We’ve been progressing every grand prix. This is the first grand prix that more or less everything has been straightforward - apart from the deployment issues I had [on Saturday].”

“I really hope that we can make that step in the mix with the midfield. There are a lot of areas, but at the moment, the main one is low [speed] is where we are lacking. The balance itself is not too bad.”

'Biggest test';

https://racingnews365.com/sergio-per...f-biggest-test


Cadillac weigh up major Miami upgrades after April break: 'We need a second'
8 Apr 2026
Henry Eccles
GPblog.com

Cadillac drivers Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas are hopeful the American giant can bring a "big upgrade" to the Miami Grand Prix, the team's first ever home race. Speaking to media post-GP, Perez reflected on his race in Suzuka: "When I was racing the Williams, the Alpine, I could see that they're not too far away, they're just able to consistently keep finding pace and pace.”

"It's clear that we need a second now and I really hope that we are bringing a big upgrade for Miami. That will be the biggest test for the team. I think there's a lot of areas, but I think at the moment the main one is load, it's where we are lacking the most. Balance itself is not too bad, it's just that we are lacking the load."

'We need a second';

https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/cadil...-need-a-second


Sergio Perez signals Cadillac's "biggest challenge": out-developing other teams
11 Apr 2926
Filip Cleeren
Motorsport.com

Sergio Perez: “It has been very promising, but on the other hand, we also look at the lap times and we can see that we need to develop,” said Sergio Perez. “Develop means out-developing our rivals, which is quite a hard thing to do in Formula 1. That’s the biggest challengs that Cadillac as a team faces, because these teams have been here for a while. We really need our A-game and now is the time where we all have to prove that we can do it as a team.”

‘A-game’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/p...eams/10812094/


Cadillac's start ‘promising’ but Perez notes ‘big challenge’ ahead
12/04/2026
Michael Delaney
F1i.com

If the opening chapter of the Cadillac F1 team’s debut season was about survival, the early verdict is cautiously encouraging. Three races in, and both Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas have brought the new outfit home twice in succession in China and Japan – a small milestone, but a meaningful one for a brand-new entry still finding its feet. Despite the steep incline, the Mexican veteran sees a solid foundation beneath the tyre smoke.

"I believe that we have a good structure, the team is in a good place, and hopefully when we start to develop, we can make significant steps,” he added. “I think we are on target at the moment. It's still early days, so I'm happy with where we currently are. But at the same time, we did progress a lot from the first to the second race and I want to see the same. We all want to see massive progress, and we want to start closing up the gap right now."

That sense of momentum is real – but so is the urgency. Behind the scenes, Cadillac has already started to flex its upgrade programme under the gaze of Nick Chester. A revised diffuser aimed at generating extra rear downforce was introduced in Japan as part of an early push to stabilise balance and build platform performance. More updates are planned for Miami, but the catch is obvious: everyone else is upgrading too.

“I think we are on target at the moment”;

https://f1i.com/news/562761-cadillac...nge-ahead.html