Sergio Perez has predicted Cadillac will secure a first podium \u201cin the near future\u201d, after all, he\u2019s been in the top three with every team he has raced for bar McLaren.<\/p>\n
Perez is set to return to the Formula 1 grid next season after a year out of the sport following his departure from Red Bull in the off-season after a woeful 2024 campaign.<\/p>\n
Sergio Perez bullish about podium dream with Cadillac<\/p>\n
\u2981 Cadillac will be on the podium \u2018in the near future\u2019
\u2981 Former Ferrari junior to test a Ferrari at Imola
\u2981 Could Cadillac beat Haas in the race for a first F1 podium<\/p>\n
The Mexican driver will return alongside Valtteri Bottas, who also spent F1 2025 on the sidelines, in an experienced line-up of 527 race starts and 16 grand prix wins.<\/p>\n
Having earlier this year passed the FIA\u2019s chassis homologation tests with its prototype chassis, Cadillac\u2019s preparations for its debut campaign meant the team recently began work on its first race chassis.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe good news is it [the car] is coming along,\u201d team principal Graeme Lowdon told Formula 1. \u201cIt\u2019s on schedule. We are currently laying up the first two race chassis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perez<\/a> has seen the progress up close at the team\u2019s Silverstone-based factory, following a visit to the outfit\u2019s Charlotte base.<\/p>\n He spent time in the General Motors simulator and later this week will put in his first laps in a Formula 1 car since last year\u2019s season finale in Abu Dhabi with Red Bull. The six-time grand prix winner will drive a black Ferrari SF-23 during a two-day outing at the Imola circuit.<\/p>\n But while Perez concedes Cadillac may have a difficult time of things when it first arrives in the sport next year, he reckons it\u2019s only a matter of time before the team is standing on the podium.<\/p>\n After all, history says he\u2019s a podium finisher as he\u2019s bagged top-three results with all the teams he\u2019s raced for \u2013 Sauber, Force India\/Racing Point and Red Bull \u2013 excluding McLaren.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I think so. I really believe it,\u201d he told Reuters of the podium dream. \u201cI think I\u2019ve been on the podium with all the teams I drove for, except McLaren.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019re going to start at the back, progressively move forward. But ultimately, in the near future, that (the podium) is a target.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter who gets there, as long as it\u2019s Cadillac.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNormally the new teams that have come in the past, they\u2019ve always been struggling financially,\u201d he added, \u201cand this is a team that is coming for real and it\u2019s coming to do things in the best way and to win.<\/p>\n \u201cCadillac are here for big things and it doesn\u2019t really matter for me where we start, it\u2019s how quickly we are able to develop and how quickly we are able to move forward. How the team is working weekend after weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking ahead to Thursday\u2019s run in the Ferrari, Perez says it\u2019s not only about working on his fitness ahead of his comeback, but also gelling with the Cadillac mechanics and engineers.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m curious, you know, to find out how many laps my neck will do before it gets destroyed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s great, you know. It\u2019s a great test and a great way to finish the year before getting back in the car next year.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s basically just a time for us to be able to get together with the engineers, mechanics, start working all together, you know, start talking the same language.\u201d<\/p>\n More on Cadillac from PlanetF1.com<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49 The figures behind Cadillac\u2019s big spending spree as F1 debut nears<\/a><\/p>\n