Cadillac’s first proper taste of Sprint Qualifying in 2026 turned sour before it even began in Shanghai, with Sergio Perez unable to take part at all after the team uncovered a fuel system issue on his car.
Perez was the first “elimination” of the session in the most brutal way possible: a DNS that left the Mexican watching the opening segment unfold from the garage while everyone else fought for track position and tyre prep. In a format that punishes any stumble — and offers next to no time to recover from one — Cadillac didn’t just lose laps, it lost the chance to learn. On a weekend where teams typically lean on the Sprint sessions to refine balance and procedures, that’s an expensive void.
It wasn’t only Perez. Valtteri Bottas joined him on the wrong side of the narrative, the Finn also dropping out in SQ1 for Cadillac after setting a 1:37.378. If Perez’s problem was mechanical, Bottas’ result was at least on the timing screens, but the net effect for the newcomer outfit was the same: both cars out at the first hurdle, and both drivers left with little to show for a session designed to set the grid for Saturday’s Sprint.
Behind Cadillac’s double disappointment, SQ1 still claimed some familiar names. Williams suffered a rough opening segment with both cars eliminated: Carlos Sainz 17th on a 1:34.761 and Alex Albon 18th with a 1:35.305. Aston Martin endured an equally bleak start, with Fernando Alonso 19th (1:35.581) and Lance Stroll 20th (1:36.151).
Those six departures defined the early storyline: two teams losing both cars, and Cadillac leaving Shanghai’s first Sprint shootout with more questions than answers. In the Sprint era, the margins are already tight. Lose a session to a fuel system fault and the weekend immediately feels like it’s being spent in arrears, not just on pace but on preparation — exactly the sort of detail that separates a tidy Saturday from a long one.
SQ1 eliminations:
– 17. Carlos Sainz, Williams — 1:34.761
– 18. Alex Albon, Williams — 1:35.305
– 19. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin — 1:35.581
– 20. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin — 1:36.151
– 21. Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac — 1:37.378
– 22. Sergio Perez, Cadillac — DNS
