Cadillac has revealed how Sergio Perez has already made an impact on F1's newest team after sessions in the simulator uncovered a major change he wanted.
Perez has been signed alongside Valtteri Bottas to form an uber-experienced line-up for Cadillac's first attack on F1 in 2026, with the team set to run a Ferrari customer power unit until it can prepare its own in-house unit towards the end of the decade.
Whilst Bottas is still contractually tied to Mercedes, Perez is unattached, and as such, has been able to spend time in the simulator, helping the team to iron out minor problems which would not normally affect other teams.
One such area is the power steering of the new machine, with executive engineering consultant and former Benetton, Williams, Renault, and F1 chief Pat Symonds explaining how Perez has already demanded changes ahead of 2026.
"Checo has been in the simulator already as he doesn't have any ties to other teams at the moment," Symonds told invited media, including RacingNews365, in Austin.
"We've had debriefs with him, and we've had him in the simulator [working on] the little bits you need to get from the driver.
"For example, Eric [Warren's] group is designing the power steering, and Checo in the simulator said: 'No, I want a slightly different feel on the power steering' and that is great because the group can then just get on and tune it to exactly the way Checo wants it.
"It is slightly different with Valtteri, because he is still contracted with Mercedes, who have actually been very helpful with us, and allowed us to get a few things sorted, like preferences for the steering wheel and these sorts of things.
"For a team in the position that we are, we're incredibly lucky to have two experienced drivers, as the workload on the drivers next year is not trivial.
"The regulation changes make the racing more tactical rather than deciding everything beforehand, so you need drivers who are capable of thinking their way through it at the same time as managing their tyres and all this type of stuff.
"So to have two experienced drivers, who I hope won't put it in the wall too often, is a great thing for a new team."
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