The summer break has arrived in Formula 1, and it might be the perfect opportunity for Cadillac to finally dip into the driver market.
The Formula 1 driver market hasn’t been as chaotic as last season, when Lewis Hamilton set off a chain reaction of moves and contract renewals when he decided to join Ferrari.
Sergio Perez was the final victim of the driver market last year, when Red Bull released him early from his contract at the end of the campaign.
He finished nearly 300 points behind Max Verstappen in the drivers’ championship, although Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda have both proved this season that the Mexican had a far harder job on his hands than many appreciated.
The 2026 F1 season and the arrival of Cadillac offers Perez another chance to return to the sport.
Cadillac have been looking at alternatives to Perez, but the Mexican driver is one of a handful of available racers who have a race win under their belt.
Valtteri Bottas and Perez could end up being Cadillac’s drivers for next season, and journalist Lawrence Barretto has shared what the 35-year-old has been telling him behind the scenes about his feelings towards a return to the paddock.
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Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty ImagesSergio Perez ‘super hungry’ to return to Formula 1 amid Cadillac interest
Barretto was speaking to pundit James Hinchcliffe on Formula 1’s official YouTube channel about Cadillac’s driver options.
The journalist said: “I’ve talked to Checo a couple of times over the last couple of months, I can’t confirm right now that he’s going to get the seat.
“But what I can tell you is that he’s super hungry to come back to Formula 1 for the right project.
“And I think the reason why Cadillac is so attractive to him is because of everything they are throwing at it.
“And I think he understands that year one isn’t going to be the year where he’s going to set the world alight.
“But I think it is an opportunity for him to use the skillset which actually made him so highly rated, which was the way he motivated a team, the way he could manage tyres, the way that he could develop a car over the course of a season and through the winter.
“I think all of these things are not readily available from the drivers who are available on the market at the minute.
“And I think that’s why Checo’s name was in the mix so early on and why I think he is going to be in the car, they’ve got to have him in the car because they need that experience.”
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James Hinchcliffe tells Cadillac they have to ‘start’ with Sergio Perez in driver talks
Hinchcliffe then gave his verdict on Cadillac approaching Perez and said: “I think you start there for sure. I think when you have a team where so much is new, the more experience you can build into the team from the get-go, the better.
“So, you mentioned the stats. He’s been part of one of the most successful organisations of the last decade.
“We’ve kind of seen recently when other drivers have been put in the car alongside Max that Checo was actually fairly competitive compared to him, which I think actually helped raise his stock.
“You could argue his stock was as low as it’s been at the end of last year when got dropped.
“But then, seeing how this team has performed this year and the second driver’s performed this year, I think his stock has actually gone back up a little bit.
“So, between the know-how of a race-winning, championship-winning team runs, and the competitiveness that he’s seen, he’s had a year off to recharge. He’s only going to come back if it’s a project that he believes in that can be successful.
“I think that’s a great shout.”
Sergio Perez needs to prove to Cadillac that stepping away from racing hasn’t impacted his ability
Perez has vast experience, but out of the options available to Cadillac, he’s the only one not currently attached to a Formula 1 team or racing in another series.
It’s a hurdle to Perez joining Cadillac, although there are some mitigating factors that could help him.
Next season sees the introduction of new regulations in Formula 1, and judging from the verdict of many of the drivers to test the new cars in the simulator, they’re very different to this generation.
It means Perez and anyone else signed by Cadillac would have to get up to speed regardless, and whoever is brought in will immediately be placed in the simulator.
Perez appears to have bided his time rather than rushing back to racing, and it’ll be interesting to see if that was the right approach to make a Formula 1 comeback.