Cadillac drivers Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas opened up about their tyre choice at the start and how challenging the decision to split the strategy was following the first rain-delayed race of the 2026 F1 season in Malaysia.
Bottas and Pérez both failed to make it out of the first segment of qualifying, finding themselves in P21 and P22, respectively.
On Sunday, a heavy downpour delayed the initial start by 40 minutes. However, Race Control had to abort the starting procedure and throw a red flag when multiple cars experienced a loss of power behind the Safety Car and got stranded on the formation lap due to a software bug.
The race eventually got underway after a delay of 93 minutes in total, with the drivers in the original starting grid order.
On account of Franco Colapinto and Arvid Lindblad getting hit with grid penalties, the Cadillac duo lined up on the tenth row of the grid on slicks.
While Pérez bailed out and swapped his softs for the intermediate tyres on Lap 2, Bottas opted to stay out.
As action resumed following a standing start, the Finn dropped to last place. Meanwhile, his teammate managed to climb to P14.
With Bottas losing control in the final sector, beaching his MAC-26 in the gravel trap, and triggering a Safety Car on Lap 9, Pérez boxed and switched to the medium compound.
The Mexican driver pitted four more times, used all three dry-weather compounds, and ultimately came home in nineteenth place.
Pérez on tyre strategy and why he ditched the slicks after a lap in Malaysia F1 race
Speaking in the print media pen after the rain-delayed F1 race in Malaysia, Sergio Pérez discussed Cadillac’s tyre choice for the start and why he decided to pit and bolt on the intermediate tyres at the end of the first lap.
“I thought it was going to be dry, you know, because when I did the laps to the grid, the formation laps, the first ones, it was raining.
“But I felt like it was too early for the inters. So when it dried up, I thought it was going to dry up a lot quicker than it did.
“But on the first lap, I realised that it was really difficult to keep the car on track. So, I bailed out of it. It was the right decision.
“We put like 30 seconds to the cars behind. It was looking great, but unfortunately, the safety car came and put the field together, and we finished where we had to.”
Asked what it felt like to pass several drivers—who were on slicks—after the standing start, the 6-time race winner noted that he had gained those positions early on and climbed to P14 by the end of Lap 3. He explained that they were simply monitoring the pace on the slicks to nail the crossover point between the wet and dry tyres.
“Well, we passed them in a lap, more or less.
“You know, it was quite obvious at the time that the slick was nowhere close. We were just keeping the gap to the slick runners, to see when they were coming at us. And once that happened, we basically changed it and went for it.”
Bottas wanted to take a risk at Sepang
Reflecting on Cadillac’s choice to start Sunday’s F1 race in Malaysia on the soft compound and his decision to stay out and brave the slippery track conditions, Valtteri Bottas said that he was willing to roll the dice.
Conceding that they had made the wrong call at the time, the 37-year-old pointed out how the slicks took significantly longer to activate than anticipated, despite Sepang’s abrasive tarmac being known for drying out relatively quickly and building heat into dry tyres rapidly even in damp conditions.
Bottas also revealed how he had nearly lost his car a few times before spinning out on Lap 9 and explained that he was merely trying to warm up his Pirelli rubber. Ultimately, he took responsibility for his mistake.
“I wanted to take a risk. I thought, you know, from where we start, we’d begin to try. Because sometimes here, you can survive with the slicks pretty well.
“But it just wasn’t the case. You know, we were sitting ducks.
“No, [the track didn’t dry out like it had done in the post]. There’s still little damp spots, you know, it’s weird.
“But yeah, that was the issue. And I already lost the car nearly a few times. And in the end, I lost it. I was trying to push to gain tyre temperature. But yeah, in the end, my mistake.”
Whether Bottas had the option to switch to intermediates like Pérez in Malaysia F1 race
With regard to whether the Cadillac F1 outfit gave him the option to bail out and switch to the intermediate tyres in Malaysia, Valtteri Bottas clarified that he had the opportunity to do so, just like teammate Sergio Pérez. In fact, he argued that splitting the strategy in such tricky conditions was the right move for the team.
“Yeah, I could have chosen. But I think it was good to split the cars for the team’s benefit. So, I was happy to take the risk. But yeah, like I said, I didn’t bail.”
Although he was glad to participate in the first wet race of the 2026 season, the 10-time F1 race winner conceded that they had failed to capitalise on the opportunities and finish in the top ten at Sepang.
“Yeah, races like this, there are opportunities. But yeah, it just seems like today we couldn’t take them. And obviously, I’m out here watching the race. So, it’s never good.
“But yeah, it was good to finally get some rain, actually.”
