Perez calls pointless 2026 Cadillac debut 'without a doubt one of my best years'

Sergio Perez has yet to score a point in the 2026 Formula 1 season with Cadillac, but the 34-year-old Mexican insists the campaign stands as one of the best of his career — a verdict that speaks more to his role within the team than to the results table.

Pérez came closest to ending that drought at the Monaco Grand Prix, guiding the MAC-10 to tenth position before a penalty ended his hopes. Strong showings in Baku, where he was consistently near the top-10 from the opening day, and in Singapore, where he built close to a lap’s advantage over teammate Valtteri Bottas, have gone unrecorded in the standings but not unnoticed by those inside the garage.

“In terms of results, obviously,” Pérez acknowledged when asked whether 2026 was his worst season. “But I think people who understand the sport can see the level at which I am driving and the level I’ve been maintaining, the performance I’ve delivered, and they can understand the caliber of the year I’ve had.”

The season marks the first time in his career that Pérez has gone pointless. Since his debut with Sauber in 2011 through to his final campaign with Red Bull in 2024, he had scored points in every single year. With six races remaining, that run looks set to end.

For Pérez, however, the significance of 2026 lies elsewhere. This is the first season in which he has been tasked with leading a team from the ground up — steering car development, managing reliability issues that have required multiple modifications since the opening race, and acting as the primary voice shaping Cadillac’s direction in Formula 1.

“In the end, Formula 1 depends heavily on your car to achieve big things,” he said. “Ultimately, we have people who know a lot about this sport, and obviously my team, and they know the level I’m at.”

Asked to place 2026 within the broader arc of his career, Pérez was unequivocal: “I think one of my best years. Without a doubt, in terms of confidence, driving level, decision-making, leadership, without a doubt one of my best years. I am being part of something so important and fundamental in a new project. My voice carries a lot of weight here, and I think that, as a driver, carries a lot of responsibility as well.”