Sergio Perez vows Cadillac won't be at the back of F1 grid, but clock is ticking

Cadillac’s new signings Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas are confident that the American squad won’t trail at the back of the grid for too long after making its Formula 1 debut in 2026.

Cadillac will become the first new team to join the grid since Haas in 2016 when it enters the series with customer Ferrari engines next year.

Team principal Graeme Lodown had already tempered expectations about its highly anticipated debut, stating in June that he expected the squad to be a backmarker in its first season in F1.

"Can you imagine if you've owned a Formula 1 team for 10 years and then another team rocks up and beats you? You would be apoplectic," he had said.

"You would be so annoyed. And so you have to assume that any new team coming in is going to be last, you know, otherwise, you know, what's gone wrong somewhere else?"

Both Perez and Bottas are 35 years old and would be nearing 40 by the time Cadillac’s F1 in-house engine programme comes on stream in 2029.

Given how long it usually takes for a new team to get up to speed, It has hence been suggested that the two might not be around in F1 by the time Cadillac is a race-winning force.

Sergio Perez vows Cadillac will 'move forwards' quickly

While former Red Bull driver Perez is realistic about Cadillac’s prospects next season, he believes the General Motors brand has the resources and the expertise to rise up the pecking order in little time.

“We want to move forward as quickly as possible,” he told the media including Crash.net.

“We know we [Bottas and I] don't have the time on our side. We also can be a big surprise, because if you see with the drivers we're bringing as much experience as possible, but also the commitment, and this is the same for all the areas in the team. 

“It's a new team but there's plenty of experience in the team in the engineering departments, mechanics.

“Everyone has a lot of experience in the sport, so definitely, I believe in the project that we can move quickly forward.”

Valtteri Bottas: 'We are realistic, it's a mountain of work'

Bottas, who remained in F1 this year as Mercedes’ reserve driver after losing his seat at Sauber, stressed Cadillac had no intention of toiling at the rear of the field.

“With Checo we can definitely guide [the team] in the right direction,” he said. “Of course, we're realistic. It's gonna be a mountain of work to do and it's gonna be probably a difficult start because it is F1, but we're not there to stay at the back.

"We don't want to finish last and I believe with this structure, with this group, with these people, there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to get relatively quickly up to the pace and that way enjoy some success. 

“We still have quite a few years left in the tank with Checo, I think the goal is to enjoy the success together, eventually when we get there.”