Sergio Perez Says Cadillac’s Pace Was ‘Very Strong’ at the Dutch Grand Prix as Valtteri Bottas Suffers a Sixth DNF in 12 Races

• Sergio Perez says Cadillac’s pace was “very strong” at the Dutch Grand Prix, on a weekend that still ended without a point
• Valtteri Bottas retired from Zandvoort with a hydraulic issue, his sixth DNF in 12 races this season
• Cadillac remain without a point in their debut Formula 1 season, sitting behind Aston Martin in the constructors’ standings

Cadillac drivers Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas believe there are lessons to take from last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, with Perez insisting the car’s pace was “very strong” at Zandvoort on a weekend that still ended without a point for the team.

The American team continue to face an uphill battle in their maiden Formula 1 season, and Zandvoort was the latest round to test that patience. Cadillac have yet to register a point this year and fell further behind nearest rivals Aston Martin in the constructors’ standings after Fernando Alonso claimed two points with a ninth-place finish.

Watch every race of the 2026 season live on Apple TV

Perez Finds Encouragement in a P15 Finish

Perez crossed the line in 15th, but he left the Netherlands more encouraged than the result suggested after Cadillac made a series of changes to the car’s parts and setup across the weekend.

“I was a lot happier with the car. I think we explored a lot the car this weekend and I was certainly a lot happier,” Perez said. “Certainly the conditions were a little bit different but overall, I was quite pleased with where we ended up with the car. The pace was very strong, especially once we were out of traffic, we were strong.”

The former Red Bull driver believes Cadillac are edging closer to a first points finish, though a real gap to the midfield remains. “I think we still need that half a second to a second to be able to mix with the midfield but I feel like today we were able to maximise our performance,” he said.

A Sixth DNF in 12 Races for Bottas

Bottas did not share in the same optimism after his race ended early. The Finn retired with 11 laps remaining, marking his sixth retirement in 12 rounds so far this season and extending a frustrating run of reliability trouble.

“Had a hydraulic issue, still looking more in detail, but it’s quite a few DNFs in a row which is not ideal, but I’m sure again we can learn something from this weekend,” Bottas said.

He described a car that changed character partway through the race. “First stint was okay but then something happened in the second stint. I wondered if the issues started already then, the car became really inconsistent in terms of behaviour, but we’ll look into it. The main thing is we learn again from today,” he said.

A New Team Still Finding Its Feet

Cadillac joined the grid this season as Formula 1’s newest constructor, and results have been hard to come by for a team building its infrastructure from scratch while racing against outfits with decades of experience. The team also changed its team principal earlier this month, a shift both drivers have had to adjust to alongside the usual rookie-season learning curve.

Zandvoort fit that pattern of incremental progress without reward, with genuine pace on show but nothing to show for it in the standings. Both drivers have spoken about building toward a breakthrough rather than expecting any single race to deliver it.

Still Searching for That First Point

Attention now turns to Monza and the Italian Grand Prix on September 4-6, a circuit that will present an entirely different challenge to the low-grip conditions Cadillac wrestled with in the Netherlands. Perez and Bottas will hope the changes made at Zandvoort translate into the team’s first points before the season reaches its final stretch.

Want more F1Chronicle.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for the best F1 news and analysis on the internet.

More F1 Reading

• Lando Norris Is ‘Driving at the Level of a World Champion,’ Says McLaren Boss Andrea Stella After His Zandvoort Fightback
• Toto Wolff Admits He Is ‘Not At All’ Disappointed by Max Verstappen’s Decision to Stay at Red Bull as Nico Rosberg Reveals the Contract’s Eye-Watering Value
• 2026 Dutch Grand Prix: Norris Beat Antonelli In The Pit Lane, Not On The Track
• Lewis Hamilton Takes Responsibility for Frustrated Radio Outbursts, Vows the Ferrari Fight ‘Is Absolutely Still On’

Written by

Jack Renn

Jack Renn is an editor at F1 Chronicle and a veteran motorsport journalist with 25 years of experience covering Formula 1 and international motorsport. A member of the Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive (AIPS), the global body representing accredited sports journalists, Jack has spent his career reporting from paddocks and press rooms across the F1 calendar. His work spans race analysis, technical insight, and in-depth features, giving readers authoritative coverage grounded in decades of firsthand experience at the highest level of the sport.

More articles by Jack Renn →