In the right garage, Sergio Perez is still a weapon. That’s the view of Otmar Szafnauer, the man who guided him through the Force India/Racing Point years and watched him build a reputation as the grid’s most reliable street-fighter.
Perez is understood to be on his way back to the grid in 2026 with Cadillac, lining up for Graeme Lowdon’s brand-new outfit. Multiple sources have indicated terms are agreed, with a formal signing expected around the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. The likely partner? Valtteri Bottas. Between them, more than 500 grands prix of hard miles, scar tissue and the kind of racecraft a fresh team would be foolish to ignore.
“If he finds the right environment, with all of his experience at both smaller teams with less budget and Red Bull, he’s got good feedback, so he definitely has something to offer,” Szafnauer told PlanetF1.com. “Especially perhaps, a new team coming in that needs an experienced driver for the first couple of years, Checo would be a good addition.”
Perez’s résumé still lands with a thud. He finished runner-up in the 2023 championship and was a serial podium finisher in the midfield before that — including those Force India days when he became the team’s insurance policy on Sundays. He also played the crucial off-track card: initiating the administration process that kept the outfit alive and cleared the way for Lawrence Stroll’s takeover.
The Red Bull exit at the end of last year still stings on paper. Perez’s form dipped opposite Max Verstappen, and his points drought became a storyline as Red Bull surrendered the Constructors’ crown. But the messy handover that followed — first Liam Lawson, then a far more seasoned Yuki Tsunoda struggling to steady the ship — has added context. The car, the culture, the timing: it wasn’t just a “driver problem.”
Szafnauer’s surprise at how the Red Bull chapter petered out comes from knowing the other side of Perez. “It took Sergio two years, but he ended up beating Hulkenberg,” he said of their Force India pairing. “That really impressed me about Sergio, and he did that through his own hard work, focus, and mental tenacity.”
Cadillac, stepping in as F1’s incoming 11th team for 2026, needs precisely that sort of muscle memory. A scratch outfit has to learn fast — on tyres, on traffic, on strategy — and Perez has lived all of it, from underdog budgets to title-winning machinery. If Bottas joins him, Cadillac gets a pair of steady hands who know how to build a weekend and keep the floor of a campaign from falling out.
Confirmation is expected soon. And if it lands as anticipated at Monza, it’ll read like smart business: a new team buying itself time with know-how — and giving a proven operator the kind of environment where he’s historically thrived.
