– Sergio Perez admits that the recent stagnation in Cadillac’s development has made the last few Formula 1 races “a disappointment.” However, he is convinced that the team is capable of finding another second through further development as the year progresses.
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In the first half of the season, Cadillac developed its car significantly to distance itself from the struggling Aston Martin. The team regularly beat the Silverstone outfit and thus often avoided the last starting row.
Recently, however, this progress has slowed. Aston Martin’s own developments (including aerodynamic updates in Hungary and the Netherlands as well as a Honda upgrade for more power) have meanwhile led to a significant improvement in lap times, allowing them to overtake Cadillac.
Perez believes that Cadillac can do more. In the podcast Beyond the Grid, he says a new team must constantly show improvements. Recently, however, the form has effectively been frozen.
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“Overall, I think the last few races were a disappointment. There is a lot of disappointment because we have not developed further. We have not improved,” says Perez, emphasizing: “As a new team, that is exactly what we should be doing, every time.”
“So I felt that there was a certain stagnation in the last few races,” says Perez and explains: “That’s why we had to look at how we did everything. As a new team, we are of course constantly learning.”
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Perez: Would be “suddenly not so far away anymore”
Perez quantified this in lap time: The team is missing about a second that it should have actually found in the first half of the season. Nevertheless, Cadillac is “not so far away” from the established teams.
If this time is found, it could be crucial for the team and enable it to put pressure on Williams, Haas, and Aston Martin. “I don’t think we have improved as much as we had hoped,” admits Perez.
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They have found a second, “but probably we were looking for two seconds,” says the Mexican. “The most important thing is that we understand and look at our processes: Why didn’t this second come? Why haven’t we improved in all these different areas?”
“Because it’s not just one thing. As a new team, there are many factors. And I see them: If we improve our downforce, our handling, and many other things, we are suddenly not so far away anymore,” he believes.
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“We are at the end, but half a second or a whole second would completely change our life at this stage. As a new team, that is within our reach,” emphasizes Perez.
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