Sergio Pérez finished 14th in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on 26 September, leaving Cadillac still without its first point of the 2026 season. In an official F1 interview published on 28 September, he described Baku as one of his best weekends in terms of driving and considered his race performance particularly strong.
Grid and result: starting 20th, finishing 8.984 seconds behind tenth
Pérez won in Baku in 2021 and 2023, and this event’s practice sessions also gave him confidence. He qualified 20th and received a three-place grid penalty for impeding, yet still started 20th. F1 explained that larger engine-change penalties for both Aston Martins altered the grid order in that area. In the race, he completed 51 laps and finished 41.400 seconds behind the winner in 14th place, matching his personal best result since joining Cadillac.
Of the 22 cars, 15 completed the full 51 laps, with Pérez 14th among those drivers. Carlos Sainz took the final point in tenth, finishing 32.416 seconds behind the winner and 8.984 seconds ahead of Pérez.
Following in the opening stint, but limited on the straights
Pérez said he used Overtake Mode to stay with Williams and Audi throughout the stint before his first stop. Discussing the limits on his race, he again highlighted a lack of straight-line speed and felt the car generated too much drag on the straights. According to F1’s explanation of Overtake Mode for 2026, a driver within one second of the car ahead at the detection point can use and recover additional electrical energy on the following lap to help close the gap.
The qualifying penalty and plans for the end of the season
The post-qualifying impeding penalty had a specific background. The stewards’ decision published by F1 stated that Pérez was weaving to warm his tyres through Turns 18, 19 and 20 on a preparation lap. Despite receiving two warnings that Piastri was approaching, he had not managed the lap in line with the traffic-management requirements. Piastri consequently had to lift. The stewards did not consider the incident dangerous, but still found it to be unnecessary impeding and imposed a three-place grid penalty.
After Baku, Cadillac remained without a point in its first F1 season, with Bottas’s 13th place in China its best result. For the remaining part of the season, Pérez does not expect further major upgrades. He hopes better trackside operations can extract more from the existing car over a weekend in preparation for 2027.
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Using the help available when following does not remove the straight-line weakness
Overtake Mode helps a following car maintain greater speed on the straights, but the driver must first meet the close-following condition to access it. Pérez praised his ability to exploit that opportunity throughout the opening stint and remain close to midfield rivals; his complaint about drag concerns the car’s own straight-line limitation. Additional electrical assistance and the car’s drag coexist, so making very good use of the available tools does not contradict the car remaining short of a points challenge.
The penalty did not change his grid slot, but the preparation lap still exposed a problem
Pérez’s rearward starting point came first from qualifying 20th. Once penalties for other drivers were combined, he still started 20th. Although this penalty cost him no further grid positions, the impeding on his preparation lap exposed a separate issue: tyre-warming movements had not been coordinated with making way for a faster car behind, despite two warnings of its approach. Improvement needs to focus on line choice and tyre-warming arrangements after a warning, turning the information already available into timely action to move aside.
Conclusion
The positive in Baku was Pérez’s use of the opportunity to remain close to the midfield during the opening stint. Finishing 14th, 8.984 seconds behind tenth, also showed the distance still separating Cadillac from a points challenge. At a stage of the season when he does not expect major upgrades, yielding properly on preparation laps is something the existing trackside team can directly improve. The lack of straight-line speed still limits the car against midfield opposition. The progress this weekend lay in driving performance; the competitiveness needed for a points breakthrough has not yet followed.
