‘The worst weekend’ – Perez calls the Austrian Grand Prix a ‘disappointing’ step backward
Sergio Perez was really unhappy with the reliability problems Cadillac faced at the Austrian Grand Prix last weekend. The team hoped the race would be a great chance to show their serious progress after adding a big upgrade to their car’s aerodynamics.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. Both Perez and his teammate Valtteri Bottas had to quit the race within the first four laps because of brake problems. Bottas stopped early, saying his brakes were overheating—something he also had trouble with during practice. Then Perez had to pull out with the same issue.
This was just the latest problem for Cadillac. Perez had suspension trouble in the Canadian Grand Prix, and Bottas also had brake issues during the Barcelona GP practice. Instead of moving forward, the American team seemed to take a big step back, which frustrated Perez a lot.
“It’s a bit disappointing what happened today,” Perez said. “I think we didn’t fully understand how much traffic would affect us. We had problems all weekend—it felt like the worst weekend. It’s like we took steps backward.
“We need to rethink how we do things, especially with upgrades. What happened today wasn’t okay and was really unlucky for the team. But I’m sure we’ll fix it for the next races.
“We had a good start and looked strong. We were racing against Alex Albon, passing each other back and forth. We seemed to have the pace to keep up with others, so it’s a shame we had to retire early.”
As a new team in Formula 1, some growing pains were expected, and Perez knows they’re still learning as the summer break approaches. But he stressed that improvements can only happen if their cars stay on the track first.
“It’s frustrating, especially when we don’t see progress. We expected some issues as a new team, but the biggest frustration is not moving forward. I believe this upgrade will help us understand the car better, and I expect our reliability to improve a lot by Silverstone.”