Croft warns Perez faces growing frustration as Cadillac's rookie mistakes hold team back

Sergio Perez is set to grow increasingly frustrated with Cadillac’s operational shortcomings despite the American team showing encouraging pace in its debut 2026 Formula 1 season, according to Sky Sports F1 lead commentator David Croft. The warning comes after Perez’s Canadian Grand Prix ended prematurely with a suspension failure, even as the car demonstrated competitive speed.

Croft pointed to a specific strategic error in Canada as evidence of the team’s inexperience. With both Perez and teammate Valtteri Bottas on intermediate tyres, Cadillac failed to execute a double-stack pit stop — a routine procedure for more established outfits.

“I think, though, Sergio’s going to get a bit frustrated,” Croft said. “There’s more pace in that Cadillac car, and there’s probably more they can do, but they’re just being held back a bit because they’re such a new, fledgling team. They have both drivers on intermediate tyres. They should have double-stacked to get rid of them. They didn’t because they’re just not at that stage yet. It’s things like that that I think are just holding Cadillac back a bit, but it’s understandable given they’ve only ever had five races.”

Cadillac’s entry to the grid this season has broadly exceeded expectations. The team has yet to score a constructors’ championship point, but it is not propping up the standings — Aston Martin’s well-documented struggles have kept Cadillac clear of last place.

Three-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick, also appearing on the programme, agreed with Croft’s assessment while raising a separate concern about Perez’s on-track positioning. “Perez is looking stronger, but I don’t know whether it’s Sergio looking strong or Valtteri struggling a little bit,” she said. “The most I see of Sergio, not to critique too much, is him getting in the way of a lot of other drivers on a lot of occasions. They can definitely tidy up a couple of radio calls in terms of traffic on track, particularly in qualifying situations. But I think it’s always going to be the case with a new team.”

Cadillac signed Perez and Bottas ahead of the season as an experienced pairing intended to accelerate the team’s development. With only five races in the books, both analysts acknowledged that the growing pains are expected — but Croft’s view is that a driver of Perez’s experience will find the operational gaps harder to accept as the season progresses.