Perez refutes the 'rusty' accusation as the Cadillac pair find their rhythm.
"To be honest, we're performing at an extremely high level."
Sergio Perez has responded to claims that he and his teammate Valtteri Bottas are "rusty" following their return to Formula 1 with Cadillac. The "rusty" remark came from F1 legend Mario Andretti, the team's ambassador, during a challenging start to the 2026 season for the new team. However, former Red Bull driver Perez asserts that he is already performing well.
Regarding his form, he stated, "I’m quite content. After returning, I quickly got back into my rhythm within just a couple of days, and I believe I'm in a strong position from a driving perspective. Honestly, we're performing at a very high level. I was very pleased with my weekend in Melbourne and my first qualifying session."
Perez did acknowledge that various circumstances have made it difficult to get a clear evaluation so far. "We experienced many different scenarios during the race, and there was significant damage, making things challenging. The weekend in Shanghai was tough as well, so I haven't had a proper weekend yet."
After two races, Cadillac is currently positioned near the bottom of the standings, with Bottas’ P13 in China being the team's best result to date. At Suzuka, Perez also downplayed a minor clash between the two teammates in Shanghai that resulted in contact between their cars. "Everything is fine; we moved past that incident quickly, especially since the day went well for the team, with both Cadillacs finishing the race," he remarked. "Now we need to build on that, progress, and aim for improvement."
Perez added that he feels physically and mentally back to his best after a year away. "After testing and two Grands Prix, I'm fully back in shape; everything is going smoothly, and all of my old natural sensations are returning. Plus, our car isn’t particularly fast yet," he joked.
The situation is being observed closely behind the scenes, as Cadillac is positioning rising American talent Colton Herta in Formula 2 as he aims to secure a super licence for a potential seat in 2027.
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