News Summary
- Sergio Pérez returns to his home Mexican Grand Prix with Cadillac, marking a new chapter after his previous Formula 1 appearances with Red Bull and other teams.
- Cadillac has not scored a point in its first 18 Grands Prix, while Pérez’s best classified race finish is 14th.
- Mexico City’s altitude, enormous local support and the team’s continuing development programme make the October 30–November 1 weekend particularly significant.
Sergio Pérez returns to the Mexican Grand Prix in an unfamiliar position: driving for a team that has not yet scored a Formula 1 World Championship point. The six-time Grand Prix winner will contest his home race with Cadillac for the first time when the American manufacturer arrives at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on October 30–November 1, as its inaugural Formula 1 season enters the final five rounds.
Pérez previously competed at Mexico with teams including Sauber, Force India, Racing Point and Red Bull, becoming one of the event’s main attractions during the modern era of the Mexican Grand Prix. Now the Guadalajara-born driver is helping establish Formula 1’s newest team, with performance and reliability still limiting its opportunities to challenge the midfield.
Pérez returns to Mexico with a different Formula 1 challenge
For several years, Pérez’s home race was associated with podium ambitions and the possibility of fighting near the front.
His period at Red Bull established him as one of the most recognisable Mexican drivers in Formula 1 history, while his six career victories strengthened his national following.
The move to Cadillac has changed the competitive expectations.
Rather than arriving with a car regularly capable of challenging for victories, Pérez is competing in the first championship of a team building its technical and operational foundations.
Cadillac entered Formula 1 in 2026 as the grid’s 11th constructor, fielding Pérez alongside Valtteri Bottas.
The American operation uses Ferrari power units while developing its own chassis and technical programme.
It has encountered the difficulties associated with establishing a new team in a championship where rivals already possess years of accumulated experience and infrastructure.
The challenge for Pérez in Mexico is therefore not to reproduce his Red Bull-era results, but to help Cadillac make tangible progress towards scoring its first championship points.
How has Sergio Pérez performed for Cadillac in 2026?
Pérez arrives at his home Grand Prix with zero championship points from 18 Grands Prix.
His best classified results have been 14th-place finishes, including races in Barcelona, Silverstone and Baku.
The Mexican finished 19th at the United States Grand Prix in Austin, the final event before his home race.
Sergio Pérez — 2026 F1 season before Mexico
| Statistic | Result |
|---|---|
| Team | Cadillac |
| Grands Prix contested | 18 |
| Championship points | 0 |
| Best classified race finish | 14th |
| Race retirements | 5 |
| Wins / podiums | 0 / 0 |
| Mexican GP date | November 1, 2026 |
The results illustrate how difficult Cadillac’s debut campaign has been.
However, the team’s lack of points cannot be attributed to one driver alone.
Bottas has also failed to score, leaving the American constructor 11th in the standings.
Cadillac’s highest race finish so far is 13th, and the team has experienced several reliability-related retirements.
These are the kinds of problems a new organisation must address before it can consistently fight established midfield competitors.
Why has Cadillac struggled in its first F1 season?
Building a competitive Formula 1 team requires more than signing experienced drivers.
An entrant must establish its aerodynamic development programme, manufacturing capability, race operations, simulator correlation and relationships with technical suppliers.
Those processes are particularly demanding when the championship introduces a substantially revised set of technical regulations.
Cadillac joined Formula 1 during the first year of the 2026 aerodynamic and power-unit rules.
Its engineers have consequently been developing a new racing programme at the same time as other teams are learning how to optimise their own next-generation cars.
The challenge becomes more complicated when reliability problems reduce the amount of useful running available.
Retirements can deprive the organisation of race-distance data, while technical issues during practice may compromise preparation for qualifying.
For Pérez and Bottas, the objective is to contribute development feedback while pursuing opportunities that emerge when competitors encounter problems.
A first points finish would represent an important milestone, but it cannot be treated as an expectation simply because the next race takes place in Mexico.
Why Mexico City could be a particularly difficult test
Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez presents unusual technical demands because it sits approximately 2,240 metres above sea level.
Reduced air density affects the operation of turbocharged power units, aerodynamic downforce and cooling systems.
For a new team, those conditions create additional work when deciding on bodywork configurations and managing temperatures.
The technical effects of Mexico’s altitude on Formula 1’s 2026 hybrid engines will be relevant to Cadillac as well as its established rivals.
The circuit also features a long start-finish straight, with heavy braking into Turn 1.
Those characteristics influence energy deployment, tyre management and the possibility of overtaking.
For Cadillac, simply completing a clean weekend could provide valuable technical information as development continues towards 2027.
Pérez also faces growing interest in Cadillac’s 2027 line-up
The team’s future driver plans have become another subject of discussion.
The experienced pairing of Pérez and Bottas was selected to give Cadillac a strong base for its first season, but the organisation must also consider its long-term development.
American driver Colton Herta remains part of the wider Cadillac project, while other drivers have been linked with possible opportunities.
As GRANDE PRÊMIO reported, Cadillac has left open the possibility of a future driver change.
That does not establish that Pérez will lose his seat or that a particular replacement has been chosen.
Instead, it reflects the decisions facing a new team as it evaluates its technical and sporting progress.
A strong performance in Mexico would be valuable for Pérez, but one result is unlikely to determine the broader direction of Cadillac’s project.
A home race with enormous significance for Mexico’s Formula 1 fans
Pérez remains an important figure in Mexican motorsport.
His presence has helped establish the modern Mexico City Grand Prix as a major event for local supporters, while his longevity and six Formula 1 victories give him a place among the country’s most successful international drivers.
The 2026 race offers fans the opportunity to see him compete for a new manufacturer, even without the expectations associated with his previous years at Red Bull.
There are also broader sporting questions to follow.
Cadillac must try to move closer to its first points finish, while the championship’s established teams arrive with very different objectives.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli could secure the 2026 World Championship in Mexico, having established a 123-point lead over George Russell.
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen has already been eliminated from the championship battle.
The Mexican Grand Prix begins at 2:00pm local time on Sunday, November 1, equivalent to 3:00pm in New York and noon in Los Angeles.
The complete worldwide schedule for Mexico City provides details for other markets.
GRANDE PRÊMIO is following every session of the Mexican Grand Prix this weekend, with breaking news, full coverage and real-time updates in its Formula 1 section.
FAQ
How many points has Sergio Pérez scored for Cadillac in 2026?
Pérez has not scored a championship point in the first 18 Grands Prix of the season.
Has Cadillac scored any points in Formula 1?
Not yet. Cadillac enters the 2026 Mexican Grand Prix with zero Constructors’ Championship points.
When is the Mexican Grand Prix?
The race takes place on Sunday, November 1, at 2:00pm local time in Mexico City.
