Perez reckons comeback performances have proven he is ‘one of the best’ in F1

Sergio Perez feels “happy I came back” to F1 after proving to himself that he is “one of the best” drivers in the field with his performances for Cadillac so far.

Perez spent 2025 on the sidelines following Red Bull’s decision to drop him at the end of the 2024 season, but the Mexican – alongside fellow experienced racer Valtteri Bottas – sealed a return to the grid with the American automotive giants in 2026.

While Cadillac, as expected, started their F1 adventure at the back of the grid, significant upgrades deployed in Miami have brought them towards the midfield pack, with Perez in particular starting to take the fight to some established rival teams.

Last time out in Canada, Perez confidently led the Cadillac charge, coming agonisingly close to reaching the second phase of Sprint Qualifying, and progressing to 11th in the Sprint race (prior to a post-race time penalty) via an aggressive soft-tyre strategy and several wheel-to-wheel scraps.

While he retired from another promising position in the Grand Prix itself due to a suspension failure, having battled with Haas’ Esteban Ocon up to that point, Perez is taking plenty of positives from his and the team’s overall displays.

“I’m very happy with my performances,” declared the six-time Grand Prix winner after Sunday’s race, when asked how he has reacclimatised to the F1 world.

“I’m happy I came back and have proven to myself that I’m one of the best out there. That to me is really nice, and I’m very happy with the level of driving I’m doing.”

Referencing Cadillac’s recent upgrades, he said: “I think we’ve done a massive step. I think this has been our most competitive weekend of all, so plenty of positives to take.”

Perez has, however, called on Cadillac to “clean up” their trackside operations as F1 heads to Europe – following the aforementioned suspension issue and various gremlins that have impacted his and Bottas’ sessions.

“I’m impatient at the moment with the operational side,” he commented. “I think it’s something that we have to improve, and we’re in a massive hurry, because we’re not maximising the result.

“I think we’re making progress on performance, which is very positive, but on the operational side it’s something that we are lacking tremendously, and we have to find our way for the European season now.”

With that in mind heading to the punishing streets of Monte Carlo, Perez signed off: “Monaco is Monaco. It’s a one-off, so hopefully we can be really strong there.”