Sergio Perez feels \u201chappy I came back\u201d to F1 after proving to himself that he is \u201cone of the best\u201d drivers in the field with his performances for Cadillac so far.<\/p>\n
Perez<\/a> spent 2025 on the sidelines following Red Bull<\/a>\u2019s decision to drop him at the end of the 2024 season, but the Mexican \u2013 alongside fellow experienced racer Valtteri Bottas<\/a> \u2013 sealed a return to the grid with the American automotive giants in 2026.<\/p>\n While Cadillac<\/a>, as expected, started their F1 adventure at the back of the grid, significant upgrades deployed in Miami have brought them towards the midfield pack, with Perez in particular starting to take the fight to some established rival teams.<\/p>\n Last time out in Canada, Perez confidently led the Cadillac charge, coming agonisingly close to reaching the second phase of Sprint Qualifying, and progressing to 11th in the Sprint race (prior to a post-race time penalty) via an aggressive soft-tyre strategy and several wheel-to-wheel scraps.<\/p>\n While he retired from another promising position in the Grand Prix itself due to a suspension failure, having battled with Haas<\/a>\u2019 Esteban Ocon<\/a> up to that point, Perez is taking plenty of positives from his and the team\u2019s overall displays.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very happy with my performances,\u201d declared the six-time Grand Prix winner after Sunday\u2019s race, when asked how he has reacclimatised to the F1 world.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m happy I came back and have proven to myself that I\u2019m one of the best out there. That to me is really nice, and I\u2019m very happy with the level of driving I\u2019m doing.\u201d<\/p>\n Referencing Cadillac\u2019s recent upgrades, he said: \u201cI think we\u2019ve done a massive step. I think this has been our most competitive weekend of all, so plenty of positives to take.\u201d<\/p>\n Perez has, however, called on Cadillac to \u201cclean up\u201d their trackside operations as F1 heads to Europe \u2013 following the aforementioned suspension issue and various gremlins that have impacted his and Bottas\u2019 sessions.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m impatient at the moment with the operational side,\u201d he commented. \u201cI think it\u2019s something that we have to improve, and we\u2019re in a massive hurry, because we\u2019re not maximising the result.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019re making progress on performance, which is very positive, but on the operational side it\u2019s something that we are lacking tremendously, and we have to find our way for the European season now.\u201d<\/p>\n