Sergio Perez handed major Cadillac job interview praise

Cadillac F1 CEO Dan Towriss has revealed that Sergio Perez "nailed" what was effectively his job interview when ahead of signing the Mexican driver.

It was announced toward the end of the summer break that Valtteri Bottas and Perez had been signed by Cadillac on multi-year deals, ahead of the team’s F1 debut next season.

Cadillac will become the 11th team on the F1 grid next year, initially as a Ferrari customer outfit, before eventually evolving into a full factory squad.

With Bottas and Perez, Cadillac will field an incredibly experienced driver pairing, something the team deemed essential for its entry into the pinnacle of motorsport.

However, the team initially considered placing a younger driver alongside Bottas, until Perez delivered an outstanding performance during a meeting with Towriss.

According to Towriss, the former Red Bull driver's experience was evident in that meeting, ultimately convincing the team that youth on one side of the garage was not the right path forward.

Discussing what questions Perez was asked, Towriss told Sky F1: "Do you want to race again? Where was he in his career? What were his aspirations? Was he excited about the project? What was he looking to do? What did he have left to prove in his career? 

"And so as we went through that meeting, Checo's experiences really came through. He nailed the meeting. We left really excited about his candidacy. 

"I think probably before that, maybe we were looking at a younger driver, but he was fantastic. And the experience really starts to separate itself from those who haven't been in an [F1] seat yet."