Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur confirmed the Scuderia has given two testing of a previous car [TPC] days to new engine customers Cadillac, as the team prepares to join the grid.

Sergio Perez is set for two days behind the wheel of a 2023 Ferrari model at Imola in the coming weeks, as he prepares to return to the Formula 1 grid after a year on the sidelines.

Ferrari boss identifies Cadillac issue with ‘huge challenge’ ahead

Cadillac will be using Ferrari power units for the first two years the American marque is on the grid, creating its own engine with a scheduled rollout of the 2028 season.

With that in mind, the team has also been getting up and running with different processes as it begins life as Formula 1’s 11th team next season, having run through a full simulation of the Italian Grand Prix weekend as live, acting and reacting in the moment to prepare its own processes for arriving on the grid.

The team will have a distinct lack of on-track running before its own testing debut in January, but Perez confirmed he will be taking the wheel of a Ferrari to give Cadillac vital mileage ahead of the team launching its own car next year, with Vasseur acknowledging the size of the task in front of them.

When asked for his thoughts about Perez testing in a Ferrari, Vasseur clarified to media including PlanetF1.com: “No, no – it’s that we gave two of our TPC test days to Cadillac.

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“I think the challenge for them is huge. Ayao [Komatsu, Haas team principal] started a new [testing] team a couple of years ago, and when it’s not for me to… The issue is not too much about the car, I would say.

“Strangely, it’s more the logistics – the setup of the garage, the infrastructure, the IT systems, and so on, and I think it’s a good test for them to put everything in place.”

Perez’s 2026 teammate, Valtteri Bottas, has recently been behind the wheel of a Mercedes as he took in 112 laps of Pirelli tyre testing in Mexico City this week, with it as yet unconfirmed whether or not the Finn will have any more running with the Silver Arrows before the end of the year.

For former Red Bull driver Perez, while training helps him stay in shape, he explained how there is no real substitute for driving a Formula 1 car, as he prepares for his own return to the grid.

Speaking at a recent football match in Mexico, he said: “As much as I train, I need to have time, kilometres in the car, because in the end, they are very specific exercises and muscles that you train in the car.

“I’m going to have two days in Imola, which is going to help me a lot. But, we’re doing well [in preparation].

“They’ll be very useful because we’ll be able to work with the mechanics and engineers to have the whole team ready for the testing program that begins in January – very early in the year – where we’ll already be at 100 percent.”

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