Perez urges Cadillac to ‘rethink its processes’ amid development lull

Sergio Perez has offered a candid diagnosis of Cadillac’s struggles at the back of the Formula 1 order, admitting the rookie team has simply not developed its car quickly enough.

All things considered, Cadillac has acquitted itself well during its maiden campaign among motorsport’s elite. But its progress has not been enough to satisfy Perez, who knows from his Red Bull years how quickly performance can subside when rivals develop faster.

The Mexican believes the American team’s biggest problem is not a lack of potential, but an inability to turn that potential into performance quickly enough.

"It's been very difficult for us to develop," he said. "I think we haven't developed basically enough.

"And so, we obviously have to rethink all of our processes to make sure that we are able to develop a lot stronger, because in Formula 1 it's all about developing.

"I think it's where we are lacking a bit. Obviously, being a new team, probably we haven't developed as much as we would have liked."

Perez evidently wants Cadillac to become much more efficient at translating development work into lap time. Asked whether he had expected more from his team’s upgrades this season, Perez was equally frank.

"Obviously, yes. “ he said. "We wanted to close the gap more.

“We are just a little bit too far behind, and the good thing is that there are very clear things that, if we are to solve them, they will bring a lot of performance soon. So that's the positive thing."

Can Budkowski change Cadillac’s approach?

Perez’s criticism arrives just as Cadillac undergoes a leadership change.

Graeme Lowdon has been replaced as team principal by former Alpine executive director Marcin Budkowski, whose engineering background could prove significant as the American outfit attempts to accelerate its development programme.

Budkowski has spoken of building a winning mentality, but the more intriguing question is whether he will fundamentally change how Cadillac approaches development.

Perez’s call to “rethink all of our processes” suggests the issue is not simply finding another upgrade, but creating a system capable of producing performance more consistently.

Cadillac has already demonstrated that it belongs on the F1 grid. The next challenge is turning that encouraging foundation into a development curve capable of carrying it up the order.

Read also: Budkowski sends clear Perez message amid Williams rumours

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via X and Facebook