Sergio Pérez pushed back on Mario Andretti’s claim that he and Valtteri Bottas looked rusty after a year out, saying he is driving well and that Cadillac needs about one second per lap to fight. He pointed to recent weekends in Melbourne and Suzuka as proof of progress and said a major upgrade due for Miami will show where the MAC-26 really stands.
Pérez said his Melbourne qualifying felt like a step, and he left Suzuka encouraged by a clearer move forward. He outqualified both Aston Martin drivers in Japan and finished on the leader’s lap for the first time in 2026. He also highlighted shrinking Q1 gaps as a marker that he is extracting more from the car. The deficit dropped from 3.098 seconds in Melbourne and 3.601 seconds in Shanghai to 2.171 seconds in Japan.
The early results still show where Cadillac is. The team has scored no points from the first three rounds, and the MAC-26 sits about two to three seconds off the pace. It has also been prone to technical faults. At Suzuka, Pérez finished 17th, and his fastest lap was around 1.1 seconds slower than key rivals, underlining how much raw speed the car lacks on race day.
Pérez’s diagnosis is blunt. He believes Cadillac needs about one second per lap to join the midfield fight and start aiming higher. He said teams like Williams and Alpine hold steadier race pace, which makes them harder to attack even when Cadillac finds a better balance. The Miami upgrade package, described within the team as the largest so far, will be the clearest check of whether development is closing the gap or if the project needs a different path.
Andretti’s criticism framed both returning drivers as possibly rusty after a season without full-time seats. Pérez countered that he and Bottas are adapting to the MAC-26 and reaching close to its limit. He argued the shortfall comes from base speed, not sharpness behind the wheel. The recent qualifying splits, the gain at Suzuka, and the effort to finish on the leader’s lap all formed the backbone of his case.
Cadillac’s season now hangs on how much the Miami update can lift performance. If the new parts return the one-second gain Pérez targets, the team expects to fight established midfield runners more often. If not, the early-season pattern of progress in qualifying but limited race reward could continue.