Max Verstappen believes former Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez will prove "very valuable" to Cadillac as it prepares to embark on its debut F1 season.
The Mexican driver has joined the General Motors-backed outfit along with Valtteri Bottas, together providing a strong injection of experience into the fledgling operation.
It is a quality that Verstappen feels will be key in helping Cadillac establish itself in F1.
When asked what Perez brings to the paddock's newest team, he addressed how the six-time grand prix winner's diverse background in the series will steer things in the right direction.
"He has driven for a lot of different teams, so he knows a lot about how teams work," Verstappen explained to media, including RacingNews365.
"Every single team works a little differently. That’s already a very interesting trait – it’s nice to understand what people are good at or where some teams are worse. That’s how it goes."
Perez, having started his F1 career with Sauber, subsequently spent time with McLaren and Force India/Racing Point before he stepped into championship-capable machinery at Red Bull.
Over that period, he gained experience across two eras of power units and four generations of chassis regulations.
Now, in joining Cadillac, he will enter his third and fifth rules set in each area, respectively, with another new dawn looming in 2026.
This aspect is also critical in Verstappen's eyes. The four-time F1 drivers' champion highlighted how the 35-year-old's understanding of cars with differing capabilities will help "push them forward" to start with.
"Also, the behaviour of cars – he’s been in a lot of different regulations, a lot of different rule sets – some things were allowed, some were not, got banned, things like that," he added.
"To have that general understanding of how a great car is, how a car is that’s not fantastic – I think it’s very valuable for them to start with.
"He has worked with many big teams, so hopefully that will push them forward in the beginning, because it’s never easy to jump into Formula 1 and be competitive straight away. But we’ll see how that goes."
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