Sergio Perez Completes First On Track Cadillac Test as Surprise Detail Spotted
Sergio Perez has taken to the track for the first time as a Cadillac driver, with the new team preparing to make their Formula 1 debut next season.
Cadillac will join the grid in 2026, with Graeme Lowdon set to lead as team principal after previous stints at Virgin and Marussia F1.
The team have chosen two experienced drivers for their inaugural line-up, with former Red Bull star Perez paired alongside Mercedes reserve driver Valtteri Bottas.
Between them, they have recorded an impressive 106 podium finishes, but both lost their seats at the end of last season.
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Perez has now returned to the race track at Imola, in a landmark move for the team.
However, Cadillac's initial on-track tests are being performed in a Ferrari SF-23, rather than their own car, which is still in development.
Until now, the majority of their preparation has been conducted in virtual simulations, as they do not yet have their own race car.
Instead, they recently struck a deal with Ferrari, who will supply their power unit, to loan one of their previous cars that complies with F1's Testing of a Previous Car regulations.
Perez is set to spend two days driving the car around the Imola circuit.
Speaking to Autosport at last month's Singapore Grand Prix, Lowdon emphasised the importance of using the Ferrari car to familiarise the team with trackside operations.
He said: "Actually, current team testing is kind of what we're interested in.
"We want to use a car, because in all of the simulations that we mentioned, we try and make it as real to life as possible.
"I think everyone gets a little bit wrongly concerned, that in some way we can get an advantage by testing someone else's car or something.
"But we're not testing the car, we're testing the people."
Lowden continued: "You have to get the mechanics used to that muscle memory of operating an F1 car.
"You have to be able to stick tyre blankets on, and then there's just the size of a car and the heat that comes off one, and the presence that they have."
However, Bottas has been unable to take part in testing for Cadillac.
That is because he remains under contract at Mercedes as a reserve driver for the remainder of the season.
After a disappointing three year spell with Sauber, he was released in 2024, only for his former team to snap him up as a backup for George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.
So far, neither of the main Mercedes drivers have missed a race, leaving Bottas to watch on from the sidelines.
Topics: Formula 1
James Taylor