Sergio Perez frustration warning issued as Cadillac F1 faces "fledgling team" issues

Sky Sports Formula 1 lead commentator David Croft believes that Sergio Perez is bound to become increasingly frustrated by Cadillac's operational shortcomings, despite the American outfit showing surprising pace in its debut 2026 F1 campaign. 

Cadillac's much-anticipated entry to the F1 grid this season has left many pleasantly surprised. While the team is yet to pick up any points, it is not at the bottom of the constructors' standings with Aston Martin battling major issues. 

Heading into its debut season, Cadillac signed the experienced driver line-up of Perez and former Mercedes and Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas. Although Perez showed good pace during the recent Canadian Grand Prix, the Mexican driver's race ended early after a suspension failure.

"I think, though, Sergio's going to get a bit frustrated," Croft said during the Sky Sports F1 Show. "There's more pace in that Cadillac car, and there's probably more they can do, but they're just being held back a bit because they're such a new, fledgling team.

"For instance, they have both drivers on intermediate tyres. They should have double-stacked to get rid of them. They didn't because they're just not at that stage yet where they can start double-stacking. It's things like that that I think are just holding Cadillac back a bit, but it's understandable given they've only ever had five races."

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team, Sergio Perez, Cadillac Racing

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images

Three-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick, who appeared on the Sky Sports F1 Show alongside Croft, added: "Agreed with that. Perez is looking stronger, but I don't know whether it's Sergio looking strong or Valtteri struggling a little bit.

"It's a little bit hard to compare the pair of them, to be honest. The only thing I would say is that the most I see of Sergio, not to critique too much, but is him getting in the way of a lot of other drivers on a lot of occasions.

"So, they can definitely tidy up a couple of radio calls in terms of traffic on track, particularly in qualifying situations. But I think it's always going to be the case with a new team."