Cadillac hail Sergio Perez reaction after 'high-profile exit'

Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon has highlighted the difference Sergio Perez has made following his return to F1.

After 14 seasons in the sport and 281 starts, Perez left Red Bull at the end of 2024 following a wretched season in which he scored just 49 points over the final 18 grands prix, and despite a reasonably solid start across the opening six races.

Ahead of their debut in F1, Cadillac opted for an experienced line-up, with Perez partnered by Valtteri Bottas, who had also been on the sidelines for a year, albeit still visible in the F1 paddock given his reserve role with Mercedes.

Cadillac has naturally struggled at the rear of the grid, although not to the extent that many believed would be the case.

Although still without a point to its name after five grands prix, the team is ahead of Aston Martin in the constructors' standings, on countback due to Bottas' 13th position in the Chinese Grand Prix, compared to 15th for Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll in Miami and Canada, respectively.

Lowdon, though, could not be happier with what he has seen so far from Perez, in particular, given the way he left F1.

"I'm really happy for Checo because he had quite a bold return to the sport," said Lowdon.

"He took a year out after a high-profile exit, and wasn't seen in the paddock for quite some time, so you could forgive him for having to get back up to speed with certain things, and he's really hit the ground running.

"It's interesting in that he hasn't scored our best result. It's Valtteri who's done that, and that makes a massive difference in a championship.

"But I really like Checo's enthusiasm for racing, pure racing. He's jumped out of the car a couple of times, and we're busy racing around for P16, P17 or whatever, and you'd think that he had been racing for a podium position or something.

"He clearly thoroughly relishes the challenge of racing with drivers that he respects, and that's fantastic to see, for sure."