– The checkered flag at Albert Park marked the end of intensive preparation and the beginning of a tough hunt for the new Cadillac team in the paddock. “The honeymoon is over,” Sergio Perez clarified after the first Grand Prix of the 2026 season. The Mexican, who together with Valtteri Bottas forms the experienced duo for the newcomer, knows: the road to the midfield is long – but the foundation is there.
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That the racing team fought at the back of the field in Melbourne did not come as a surprise to Perez. The focus was primarily on making it through the distance at all.
“I think it was something very special for the whole team to finish this race,” said the Mexican. “Considering how short the time was that this team has worked together, it’s a massive operation under these new rules. Not many cars made it to the finish. We made it, unfortunately only with one car. But we know that the first goal has been achieved.”
Cadillac must work hard
Now begins the phase of ruthless efficiency. When asked about a timeline for catching up to the midfield, Perez is ambitious: “I hope that by the summer break we have already been able to score a few points. It is obviously a big task with the gap we currently have.”
Perez emphasizes, however, that the infrastructure is not comparable to typical backmarkers of past decades: “This team is new, but it is very different from all the other new teams that have entered the sport. This team has all the resources available and also has the necessary experience. There is a lot of experience in the team; many people have been doing this for more than 20 years.”
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Nevertheless, he warns against too high expectations for short-term miracles: “In Formula 1, things unfortunately don’t come quickly. There are many areas where we will make big steps in the coming races, operationally and even in strategy.”
“If we clean up our race starting from Melbourne, there are things we could have done better: better targets, better strategy, operationally better stops. Our last stop was very competitive. The big chunk is, of course, the aero development. I think that will come quickly – hopefully.”
Bottas: “The car is very simple”
His teammate Bottas confirms the impression of a solid but still unpolished diamond. The car that started in Australia was a necessity of the early deadline.
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“After what we saw in testing and knowing what we would bring to Melbourne, we knew we would be more at the back end,” the Finn admits openly. “It was more or less as we expected: we fought against Aston Martin and managed to keep one of them behind us during the race until I finished. But yes, there was still a gap to the cars ahead of us, which we now have to work on closing.”
According to Bottas, the reason for the gap lies primarily in the early finalization of the design: “We knew that this car was finished a long time ago. And it is very simple. They had to release the design very early. So we knew that the start would always be difficult.”
The plan: Updates at each of the first five races
Despite the base version of the current car, Bottas sees no design dead end. He recognizes no fundamental architectural flaws in the current package, but rather a deficit in detail.
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“I think if you look at the details compared to other cars – I think the bodywork looks great, but I think it’s more about the finer details where there’s a bigger difference to the top teams,” he explains.
According to Bottas, fans can expect a constant stream of new parts in the coming weeks: “I think in the first four or five races we will always bring something to the track regarding aerodynamics – more downforce at every race.”
“Then we’ll see how big the difference is. But the team now has much more knowledge about other cars and their philosophies. I’m sure they’re going full throttle in the wind tunnel right now to find out which direction the long-term improvements should take.”
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For Perez, it’s clear: the ranking in Melbourne is just a snapshot. “It’s irrelevant where we started; all that matters is how much progress we can make in the coming months. Because: in Formula 1, there is no time.”
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