Incoming Cadillac F1 driver Sergio Perez has confirmed that he has plans to get behind the wheel for his first test with his new team in the near future, with trips to both the United States and England planned.

The plan, Perez said at a Los Angeles Dodgers MLB event, is to get some time in both the simulator and in an older F1 machine in order to once again prepare himself for a life of active international competition.

Sergio Perez confirms first Cadillac F1 tests planned

After months of speculation and rumours about who would be tasked with leading the incoming Cadillac F1 team into its Formula 1 debut come 2026, the team announced that it would be hedging its bets on experience.

Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, it was confirmed, would comprise the American outfit’s debut lineup.

Both Bottas and Perez found themselves without an available seat for the F1 2025 season after their tenures with Sauber and Red Bull Racing, respectively, came to a close.

That being said, their combined experience made them extremely attractive prospects for a team building itself from the ground up.

That newness has also provided a critical challenge: Testing. Cadillac has no previous cars to use when getting its new drivers back up to speed. But that hasn’t stopped the team from seeking an inaugural test for Perez, which the driver discussed at a Los Angeles Dodgers event.

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“Next week, I will be in Charlotte and in England,” Perez said at the event.

“For me, it’s important to drive this year, especially for the neck, so that my body adapts again to what’s going to happen in 2026.

“I will train in the simulator, and there are plans for me to test an old F1 car.”

Exact dates have yet to be specified for these on-track tests, and details are not expected to be communicated to Perez until, at earliest, next week when he visits the factory at Silverstone.

There are currently no firm plans in place about the car which the team will use – whether that be an older F1 car from another team, as the TPC rules allow for pending FIA approval, or even a car from a lower formula.

“We don’t have a previous car. The car isn’t actually important,” team boss Graeme Lowdon explained this week on the Beyond The Grid podcast, when asked about the TPC rumours.

“We’re not looking to do this test to engineer something, which is what a lot of the other teams are looking to do at the minute.

“We want the mechanics to get used to regain that muscle memory of working with a live car, it doesn’t have to be a Formula 1 car. It’s good if it is.”

The news of a test in itself isn’t a surprise; in fact, back in August’s press conference with both Bottas and Perez, the driver from Mexico was clear that he’d have some work to do in order to get himself back into grand prix racing shape, particularly considering he stepped away from Formula 1 after 2024.

“For me, it was very important to have this time off from the sport, you know, especially because it only became clear towards the end of the year that I was not going to continue with with Red Bull,” Perez explained to media, including PlanetF1.com, during that press conference.

“So instead of jumping into something just for staying on the grid, I needed that time back to disconnect myself from the sport a bit and to understand what I really want next in my career.

“It wasn’t very clear for me in the beginning, especially the first couple of months, what I wanted to do next. And the more I talked to the Cadillac team, the more it became apparent that this is what excites me to go back, you know?

It’s a project itself. It’s just not going back to the grid with the regular team to fight for podiums and races and points.”

Part of the clarity Perez uncovered during that time away from the F1 grid was understanding that he actually enjoyed the hard work of physically preparing oneself for competing in such an intense sport.

“I always thought I hated [training],” Perez admitted, “but this time that I had off, it made me realize that I really enjoyed training. So I’ve been staying fit. Obviously haven’t driven anything for a while, other than karting with my son.

“But yeah, there are some plans with the team to test a Formula 1 car before the end of the year, and obviously, next year, with the testing that we’re going to have, is going to make that dust go away extremely quickly.

“I know what Formula 1 is about, and I will be ready to deliver from the first race onwards.”

Perez threw the ceremonial first pitch at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday evening as part of the team’s ongoing celebration of Mexican Heritage Month.

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