Cadillac’s debut season saw the car stuck at the back, barely clipping Aston Martin before the British team surged ahead.
Madrid’s rhythm shocked many, but the points stayed elusive.
Pérez found himself 17th when a massive water leak forced retirement, yet he lauded the effort, calling the car “a bit track‑specific” on the new layout.
“I was almost as quick as Alexander Albon all weekend,” Pérez said. “We stayed within a second or two until the failure. It was a solid pace weekend for us. We pushed the brakes to the limit and I’m pleased with that.”
A strong launch catapulted Pérez from 18th to 16th ahead of Tsunoda and Sainz, and the real surprise was his pace matching Albon’s.
Alexander Albon (Williams) ahead of Sergio Pérez (Cadillac)
“That’s the best takeaway,” the Mexican added. “We stayed with them from lap one to the finish. In the second stint we were actually quicker than Albon, so I’m thrilled. We just need reliability and to keep this momentum.” For my money, Cadillac’s pace shows real potential.
Both drivers ran identical strategies—mediums at the start, then hards under the virtual safety car—making the comparison crystal clear.
In stint one Pérez was 0.403 s slower per lap, but on the harder tyres the Cadillac driver gained 0.351 s per lap before the leak and blue‑flags cost him time.
The sample sizes are modest—11 laps in stint one, eight in stint two—but the trend is clear and consistent.
Teammate Valtteri Bottas spent his Madrid afternoon at the back and sounded far less optimistic, especially as Cadillac still wrestles with reliability. The team has endured 11 retirements or non‑starts this season, fewer than Aston Martin’s 15 but far more than Williams’s seven.
“We know we must improve,” the Finn admitted with a nervous chuckle. “The car isn’t fast enough, and today’s degradation shows how far behind we are—much more than the competition.”
Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac Racing
Ultimately we lacked pace, but finishing after managing brake temperatures was a positive.
When Pérez’s satisfaction with matching Albon’s speed was mentioned, Bottas qualified it: “We can be there early, as we saw, but the degradation worsens as the race goes on.”
Looking ahead to Baku, I’m more hopeful. The circuit’s high‑speed corners let us run flat‑out; the slower sections will be a bigger challenge.
Cadillac will aim to better its best results—18th in qualifying and 14th on Sunday—when it heads to Azerbaijan, where the MAC‑26’s lack of downforce should hurt less.
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