Checo Pérez shows confidence after the first Cadillac tests in F1 preseason

Preseason is almost ready for Checo Pérez’s official return to Formula 1 with Cadillac. After completing the setup tests in Bahrain, the Mexican driver shared his thoughts on the American team’s car. During the morning session, Pérez finished in tenth place with a time of 1:40.842 after completing 61 laps, about 9 seconds behind Charles Leclerc, who recorded 1:31.992 as the best time of the day. The testing sessions were divided into two blocks of three days each: from February 11 to 13, and then from February 18 to 20, allowing Sergio Pérez to test the car that will compete in the 2026 season.

The car’s balance boosts Checo’s optimism

After handing over the wheel to his teammate Valtteri Bottas, Checo spoke with the press, expressing that despite the significant time difference, he feels confident about the work done by the team so far. The driver noted that the process is crucial for identifying weaknesses: “At the moment, the car’s balance feels favorable. I believe we have a well-balanced car. We have made significant progress in each session.”

The Mexican also showed awareness of the complexities of this initial stage. Cadillac is facing its first year in Formula 1, which means the car is constantly evolving and improving. “We are accumulating many kilometers, which has been the most important for our development. We expected the start to be difficult, but now the critical thing is to see how quickly we can improve from this point,” added Pérez.

Development challenge for Cadillac against the leaders

Checo Pérez is aware that the team faces a considerable challenge during the season. Cadillac engineers have been working for months to build a competitive machine capable of rivaling McLaren and Red Bull, who dominated the last championships. “The main difficulty will be evolving faster than the teams ahead of us. That is a huge challenge we will face. It’s about establishing the foundations in the first half of the year, to properly structure all areas of the team and optimize the car’s development as quickly as possible. We hope to catch up with them soon,” outlines the team’s strategy.

Both Pérez and Bottas have contributed significantly to identifying improvements that the team will implement ahead of the official season start in Australia. “As a new team, coordinating all departments takes time. We just need to go out and gather valuable information,” comments Checo, who is already preparing for the 2026 Australian Grand Prix, the season opener.

Leclerc dominates testing while Checo gathers references

Friday’s session confirmed Charles Leclerc as the fastest not only of the day but of the entire testing batch, recording his best time with Ferrari after an intensive session of extended laps and race simulations. Following him were Lando Norris, who finished the afternoon session strongly with McLaren, and Max Verstappen, keeping Red Bull in the leading group heading into the season.

The final tests also showed varied results in the remaining paddock. Mercedes experienced a slight performance dip after leading previous days, while Williams and Aston Martin prioritized reliability programs and data collection over timing. Overall, the teams used this preseason finale to validate aerodynamic configurations, assess tire wear, and fine-tune final adjustments in preparation for the first race.