Mario Andretti calls him “rusty”, but Sergio Perez disagrees: the Mexican explains why he is happy with himself despite being behind
Sergio Perez returned to Formula 1 in 2026 after a one-year break. The Mexican now firmly rejects criticism from Mario Andretti that he “just seems a bit rusty” after the break and emphasizes that he is already back in full form. “To be honest, I think we performed at a very high level,” said the six-time Grand Prix winner on the sidelines of the race in Japan.
After a disappointing 2024 season, Sergio Perez was released by Red Bull at the end of the year. After a one-year sabbatical, he signed with Formula 1 debutant Cadillac for the 2026 season. However, the new era got off to a difficult start. Perez failed to score any points in the first three races of the season, which came as no surprise given the expectations placed on the US team as a latecomer.
The Cadillac MAC-26 is currently around two to three seconds behind the leaders and regularly struggles with technical faults. The fact that they are currently ahead of Aston Martin in the world championship remains a small ray of hope.
However, Mario Andretti was critical of the driver pairing. In addition to Perez, Valtteri Bottas also returned to a permanent cockpit after leaving Sauber at the end of 2024. “To be honest, I think they’re both just a bit rusty,” explained the 1978 world champion, who is the namesake of the chassis, in the Drive to Wynn podcast.
Perez defends his form
Sergio Perez clearly contradicts this statement. “I was very happy with my weekend in Melbourne and with my first qualifying. In the race we had different scenarios and a lot of damage. So it was not straightforward. Shanghai was not an easy weekend either, I had a lot of damage in the race.”
He believes that he and Bottas are getting the maximum out of the material, which simply lacks basic speed. Perez added: “I haven’t had a full weekend yet, but I’m pretty happy with my performance. I was back in rhythm within a few days of my return. I think I’m at a good point driving-wise.”
Upward trend in Suzuka gives hope
After the race in Suzuka, the Mexican was even more optimistic. For the first time in the 2026 season, he finished a race on the same lap as the leader. He also significantly reduced the gap in Q1: while he was still 3.098 seconds behind in Melbourne and 3.601 seconds behind in Shanghai, it was only 2.171 seconds in Japan.
“It was pretty interesting. When I was driving behind the Williams and the Alpine, I could see that they weren’t too far away. They are just able to consistently find more and more pace,” analyzed Perez.
Formula 1 now goes into a break in April as the Saudi Arabia and Bahrain Grands Prix have been cancelled due to the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. The fourth race will take place next month in Miami. “It’s clear we need a break now and I really hope we bring a big upgrade to Miami,” Perez continued.
“I think this will be the biggest test for the team. We have been improving at every Grand Prix. This was the first weekend where everything went more or less smoothly, apart from the power issues yesterday. I really hope we can take this step to be in the midfield.”
