Sergio Pérez expressed his frustration regarding the lack of significant development from Cadillac in the 2026 F1 season thus far. The Mexican also stressed that the team must re-evaluate its approach. He then shared his insights on Cadillac’s performance deficit compared to the grid.
Cadillac F1 Team enters summer break as the only squad that has yet to score a point in the 2026 F1 season. The American team currently sits last in the 2026 F1 Constructors’ Championship, with Aston Martin ahead of them by a mere point.
Pérez says Cadillac must change their approach towards the 2026 F1 season
Cadillac has brought several upgrades to its MAC26 thus far in its debut F1 season. The team’s first major aerodynamic upgrade package was brought to Miami. The extensive list of upgrades included floor modifications, front wing updates and other revisions aimed at weight saving.
Since then, the team has consistently brought several other modifications across multiple weekends.
However, as Pérez noted, these upgrades did not reflect any game-changing improvement for Cadillac like the upgrades brought by their rival teams, such as Racing Bulls in Montréal and Aston Martin in Hungary. The 36-year-old added that this was expected as Cadillac was only in its debut season.
“It’s been very tricky. It’s been very difficult for us to develop. I think we haven’t developed basically enough. So we obviously have to rethink all our processes to make sure that we are able to develop a lot stronger, because in Formula 1 it’s all about developing, and I think it’s what we are lacking a bit. Obviously, being a new team, probably we haven’t developed as much as we would have liked.
“Obviously, yes, we wanted to close more the gap. At times, we are just a little bit too far [away]. The good thing is that there are very clear things that, if we are to solve them, they will be bringing a lot of performance soon. So that’s the positive thing.”
Not all problems need to be solved through upgrades
When asked if all of Cadillac’s performance deficit will be solved through updates, Pérez rejected the idea, saying: “No, some of them we need upgrades and others not.”
The six-time Grand Prix winner used the team’s tyre wear issue as an example. According to Pérez, Cadillac does have an understanding of why the MAC26 wears down its tyres too quickly during longer race stints.
However, the team has struggled to come up with a solution for the issue through set-up tweaks and mechanical adjustments. In this scenario, Cadillac would hence have to rely on upgrades to solve the tyre wear issues, which Pérez hopes the team will be able to bring to their 2026 F1 challenger as soon as possible.
“For example, in our race performance we understand clearly where we’re lacking on tyres, and that’s something that the team is working quite hard to get there. But at the moment it’s just not really working well. Those sort of performances to come in line quickly, and I think it’s a part where we are lacking, and where the team is going to be focusing the most on trying to bring performance sooner.”
Pérez shares that Cadillac will remain focused on the 2026 F1 season
While Cadillac does plan to focus more resources on their 2027 challenger, Pérez revealed that the team has not given up on their 2026 debut F1 season. The Mexican shared that Cadillac will continue to bring upgrades to their current challenger and hopes it serves as a confidence boost for the team ahead of the next season.
“Yes, of course. Right now it’s a point where we start focusing on next year, so it’s a bit of a balance. But still I think no one in the team is happy with where we currently are. So I would think that the team will keep pushing a few more upgrades to come to make sure that we are able to at least show ourselves that our development process is strong, and that will give us a lot of confidence going forward.”
The disadvantage of being a customer team
As the 2026 F1 season marks Cadillac’s debut in the sport, the team currently relies on Ferrari for its power unit and gearbox.
Pérez shared that as a customer team, Cadillac has no control over the production speed or quality in these areas, and is hence stuck in an “inefficient” development cycle.
“No, I think it’s a little bit of inefficiency and obviously a lack of development because a lot of it is done through third parties. So we don’t control much of it. So there is a lot of work done behind the scenes to try to get on top of all of that.”
Cadillac needs to establish a proper internal structure
Another downside of being a new team is the lack of proper routines. Unlike veteran teams that have refined their workflows and processes over years and decades of experience, Cadillac enters the 2026 F1 season with little to no experience.
Sergio Pérez stressed that Cadillac will have to improve its internal communication. He added that the team needed to figure out a proper workflow to maximise its potential and development.
“I think at the moment we don’t have a clear process in place. You know, with a lot of the teams established, they know their process on development. They have a very clear line [on] how to do things backwards and forwards. And for us there’s a lot of curves at the moment that we’re still finding out. And we’re still trying to get the most of it, and we have to straighten up that line, and that will be a lot better.”
