– For the new Cadillac team, Friday in Shanghai was a real setback. Sergio Perez had to skip the sprint qualifying in China completely because his MAC-26 was once again struggling with a fuel pump problem.
Read more Roll-out of the RC214V: Honda presents 2027 motorcycle for the first time in a video
The problem is not an isolated case. Already at the season opener in Melbourne, a fuel system defect massively restricted Perez’s Friday practice. In Australia, teammate Valtteri Bottas was also hit so hard that he could not finish the race. In Shanghai, Perez completed only 13 laps in the only free practice session before sprint qualifying.
“It was a fuel pump problem,” Perez said after the session. “Unfortunately, we have been struggling in this area for a long time, far too long. It is very frustrating. We haven’t been able to solve it, and it has happened very often.”
A persistent problem
Whether the team will get the problem under control in time for the sprint on Saturday, Perez left open. “I don’t know. The team is also working hard on it at home, and we will see if they can fix it or not.”
He emphasized that the restrictions have existed since the winter tests: “We had the same problem this morning, so driving has been very limited so far. We have been struggling with this problem since the start of testing and have not yet found a solution.”
Read more Alpine on the exit: “Writing the future together, even more than before”
Bottas finished sprint qualifying in the last starting position, 1.8 seconds behind the Aston Martin ahead of him. He was even more than three seconds off the Q2 cut-off. The Finn was also slowed down by technical problems, in his case by a significant ERS deployment failure. “Unfortunately, it was quite a lot. It was a bit of a wasted session,” said Bottas. “It’s hard to say where we would have ended up without the problem.”
Problems were expected in this early phase
At least Bottas was cautiously optimistic for the sprint itself. “I think it will have to be considered separately. With the ERS and the power unit, there are completely different settings in the race configuration. I would assume that we can fix that.” Cadillac technical director Nick Chester spoke openly of a “difficult day” after qualifying. Both cars are on the last row of the grid for the sprint.
At the same time, Chester put the situation into perspective: “At this early stage of our development, we are still encountering problems and fixing them in real time. We were not able to set representative times. Nevertheless, every lap provides us with valuable information that moves us forward.”
Cadillac relies on the complete Ferrari power unit including the rear axle for the MAC-26, which gives the team a solid technical basis. The fact that such teething troubles still occur shows how complex entering Formula 1 remains, even with strong partner equipment.
Read more New “update” on Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari steering wheel causes excitement
