AUSTIN — Sergio Pérez is back on the Formula 1 grid for the 2026 season, part of a veteran pairing with Valtteri Bottas at Cadillac, the sport’s newest team.
And while the results have not come overnight, the veteran driver believes that he and Bottas are doing getting everything they can out of the team’s package for the 2026 season, and even brighter days are ahead for the new kids on the block.
“We’re not lacking anything on the driver’s side,” outlined Pérez to the media, including SB Nation, on Thursday at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin. “It’s really that once we get a little bit more performance, you know, once we close the gap a little bit more to the midfield, we will start [delivering results].
“The thing is that now we are overdelivering a lot as a team, but the car is just too far away.”
Asked whether it was frustrating that the team was “overdelivering” but the results have not followed, Pérez highlighted his trust in the team and everyone involved with the project.
“No, no, at the end of the day, my team understands it,” began Pérez.
“People who really follow the sport well understand it, and more than anyone, myself, I go home happy when I know that I’ve done a good weekend, regardless of the results.”
However, Pérez believes that 2027 will see the newest team on the grid take a big step forward, particularly with the car itself.
“More to next year,” said Pérez when asked if a step forward was possible this season, or more likely in 2027.
“Right now we are a new team, a smaller team. You are very limited with the budget cap, basically since we started the year. So, yeah, it’s more into next year.”
As for what kind of step the team will take, Pérez is expecting something “big.”
“We are expecting a big, a big step,” began Pérez. “I expect us to be making a very big step. That’s definitely the target. I think if we are able to do that, then we will be in a really good position to score points on a regular basis.”
While the points may come on a regular basis in 2027, Pérez is set to celebrate a major F1 milestone earlier than that. Next weekend’s Mexico City Grand Prix will mark his 300th race on the F1 grid, and the Mexican driver is “looking forward” to that event.
“I’m really looking forward [to the Mexico City Grand Prix],” said Pérez on Thursday. “We’re doing a road show on the Wednesday before; it’s my 300th race as well at home, so it’s pretty incredible, like all of this has happened in Mexico.
“Super, super happy and so much looking forward to it.
“It’s incredible, you know, and to have all the people that have been with me since day one supporting me, all my sponsors, all my family, all my fans, you know, for Mexico [it] has been a huge thing, you know, to get a Formula One driver. We don’t have much history in the sport, so to have a Mexican driver, to have a Mexican Grand Prix, it’s a pretty big deal for us.”
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