Checo Pérez already feels the change: “The biggest regulation of my career”
Photo: El Universal.
The countdown to Australia 2026 has already begun. But before the roar of engines in Albert Park, there are months of work in the shadows. The preseason tests are that first test, and Sergio ‘Checo’ Pérez has already put his hands on the steering wheel of the Cadillac.
How did it go? The Mexican, who just turned 36, celebrated in his own way: by accelerating at full throttle on the Barcelona-Cataluña Circuit. He shared the track with Valtteri Bottas, but the numbers were different. The Finn accumulated 33 laps; Czech, only 11.
A total of 44 laps for the Cadillac team, a low but expected number for a newcomer. The important thing was not the quantity, but the quality of the information collected.
“You want all the problems to appear now”
And boy did they appear. After filming, Checo was clear: there were complications. But far from worrying, he showed the optimism of a veteran who knows that these days are for that.
“Yes, it was, you know. It’s always complicated when there is such a big change in the regulations… today we had a lot of problems, which is good. It’s our first day… you want all the problems to appear now,” he highlighted for F1.
Its main feeling behind the wheel confirms what many anticipated: this is not just any change.
“Yes, very, very much. I think these cars are enormously different from what we were used to… In my opinion, this has been the biggest change of regulations that I have had in my career,” said the driver from Guadalajara.
That phrase says it all. After so many seasons in the elite, if Checo talks about the “biggest change”, it is because a revolution is coming on the asphalt.
The tests continue in Barcelona until January 30. Then it will be Sakhir in February and finally Australia to turn on the lights of the new cycle. The road has just begun and Cadillac already has its first list of tasks.
