Sergio Pérez pointed out that Cadillac needs to gain about 1s per lap if it wants to catch up and challenge the opponents ahead in the 2026 Formula 1 season. Furthermore, he sees progress from the team after the first three races.
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In the Japanese GP, the championship newcomer managed to beat the troubled Aston Martin, with both the Mexican and Valtteri Bottas qualifying ahead of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll. In the race, Checo was 17th and 27s behind Carlos Sainz and Franco Colapinto
Furthermore, Pérez had a 1.1s difference between his fastest lap and that of his opponents.
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“It was quite interesting. When I was following, racing behind Williams and Alpine, I could see that they weren’t very far away. They simply manage to maintain a constant pace. I think it’s clear that we need 1s now, and I really hope we have a major update for Miami, and I think that will be the biggest test for the team,” he said.
“I think we have been progressing with every GP. This is the first GP where practically everything went well, except for the positioning problems I had yesterday [in qualifying]. I really hope we can take this step to be in the fight for the midfield,” he added.
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