Sergio Pérez is the latest driver to convey his frustration with the 2026 F1 regulations. Pérez has had an unfortunate first half of the season with Cadillac troubles and reliability issues meaning he currently sits last in the Drivers’ Championship.
Sergio Pérez on the 2026 F1 regulations “What I saw was not Formula One”
Sergio Pérez retired from the 2026 Belgian GP on lap 13 after suffering a failure on his Cadillac. This meant he was able to watch most of Spa from a fans perspective and expressed his disappointment with what he saw. Fans and drivers consider the Belgian GP one of the most exciting and thrilling tracks on the calendar. However, in 2026, it didn’t provide fans with the same experience.
“Yes, I think Spa right now with the current regulations is not a good place for Formula One to be honest because what I saw was not Formula One and I don’t want to keep going on about it but definitely it wasn’t nice.”
Sergio Pérez discusses his expectations for the 2027 F1 season
Throughout the first half of the 2026 F1 season, the FIA and the F1 governing body have made tweaks to help improve racing in the sport. However, these new regulations still need to be perfected. Changes will be made ahead of the 2027 F1 season improving the balance between the Internal Combustion Engine and the Energy Recovery System. Sergio Pérez discussed how optimistic he is for the 2027 F1 season. As well as whether he thinks these changes will improve racing in Formula One.
“To be honest it’s really hard to understand these regulations. And so until you try them on a simulator what are those changes that they’re thinking and obviously nothing has come through yet.
“I think we did, in all fairness F1 and FIA have done a tremendous step since the beginning of the year to where we are now.
“But obviously Spa, we couldn’t hide anything. It was there and what we saw was not Formula One. We all have to face it and that was not good enough.”
Pérez on the problems Cadillac faced at the 2026 Belgian GP
Sergio Pérez was forced to retire on lap 13 of the Belgian GP. Marking Cadillacs 7th DNF of the 2026 F1 season. The team also suffered a double DNF in Hungary bringing the total to 9.
Speaking on the mechanical issue at Spa, Pérez stated that it was just a one off. Many drivers struggled with deployment issues during the 2026 Belgian GP. The Mexican driver suggested that the Belgian GP was more about energy and deployment.
“Yes, we had a bit of an idea. We had a bit of an issue with the car, but obviously I think Belgium was one off.
“When you see in hindsight everyone struggled with the deployment, I think it was really bad to see.
“I got to see the race afterwards because I retired so soon. It’s not the nicest I’ll say, but I think overall it was all about energy on that circuit. Basically the slower you go the faster you went and stuff like that, it just goes against the thinking.”
