Sergio Perez says \u201cthe honeymoon is over\u201d for the Cadillac F1 team following its \u201cincredible\u201d debut at the Australian Grand Prix last weekend.<\/p>\n
And he has called for the American outfit to take \u201cbig steps forward\u201d to close the gap to its rivals.<\/p>\n
Sergio Perez: \u2018Incredible\u2019 to complete first Cadillac F1 race<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n Cadillac made its long-awaited debut in Australia last weekend, becoming the first brand-new team to arrive on the grid since fellow US outfit Haas in 2016.<\/p>\n Perez and teammate Valtteri Bottas were the slowest of the drivers to set a time in qualifying, with the Mexican trailing the next-fastest car \u2013 Fernando Alonso\u2019s Aston Martin-Honda \u2013 by 0.7 seconds.<\/p>\n Bottas retired after 15 laps of the race due to a fuel system issue, while Perez was lapped three times en route to 16th place.<\/p>\n Analysis: Australian Grand Prix<\/p>\n Australian GP conclusions: Formula Net Zero, Russell\u2019s main threat, Aston Martin-Honda mistake<\/a><\/p>\n Winners and losers from the 2026 Australian Grand Prix (Albert Park)<\/a><\/p>\n Perez says it was an \u201cincredible\u201d feeling to finish Cadillac\u2019s landmark first race in Formula 1 after the team was forced to combat \u201ca lot of issues\u201d at the start of the weekend.<\/p>\n And he has declared that \u201cthe honeymoon is over\u201d, calling for the team to work on closing the gap to the cars ahead.<\/p>\n He told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets in Melbourne: \u201cThe first step is done as a team. Completing the race was incredible.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a shame that our battery couldn\u2019t complete it, but overall it was a great one. A great recovery for the weekend.<\/p>\n \u201cWe started with a lot of issues, but I think from now on obviously the honeymoon is over and now it\u2019s all about [how] we need to do big steps forward.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to put a plan in the team to move along and close the gap, which I believe we can do.<\/p>\n \u201cBut we are all very competitive inside the team and that\u2019s the attitude we need to be able to close the gap and aim for something big this year.\u201d<\/p>\n Bottas offered a more positive assessment of Cadillac\u2019s pace, adding: \u201cOverall, we were there. We were racing with some cars.<\/p>\n \u201cWe kept Aston behind, not initially falling miles back, so that\u2019s encouraging to see.<\/p>\n \u201cSo overall, even though I\u2019m standing here [with the race ongoing after his retirement], I\u2019m still proud of the whole team and I\u2019m very happy to be back.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is part of the learning curve. We\u2019ve just got to keep resolving issues and the only way is up from here.\u201d<\/p>\n Bottas added that tyre graining was the main limitation before issues developed on his car, necessitating a visit to the pits purely for a change of steering wheel, with no change of tyres, at one stage.<\/p>\n He revealed that he was ordered to stop the car immediately after Cadillac noticed a fuel system issue despite being close to the pit entry.<\/p>\n Recalling his race, he explained: \u201cStart was good \u2013 actually, all the practice starts have been decent, so I was quite confident for that even with the hard tyre.<\/p>\n \u201cBut then, naturally with the hard tyre, a lack of pace, started to fall back.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd the biggest issue, before the [big] issues happened, was that I started to have quite a bit of graining on this tyre, so that was the biggest worry I had going ahead in the race.<\/p>\n \u201cBut then the issues started. The first issue seemed to be something mechanical. Actually, I think probably steering wheel-related, because when we swapped the wheel in the pit lane, it helped.<\/p>\n \u201cBut then there was another issue, we had to stop the car. I asked the team [and said]: \u2018I\u2019m almost in the pit lane.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cBut they said: \u2018Stop now.’\u201d<\/p>\n Additional reporting by Mat Coch<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n