Did Cadillac have a “quicker” pace compared to Williams in the Madring F1 race?

Cadillac has found itself trailing in Formula 1 during its inaugural season, initially competing with Aston Martin before the latter advanced.

Nonetheless, the team demonstrated promising race pace at the Spanish Grand Prix, despite still chasing after points.

Sergio Perez was in 17th place when a catastrophic water leak forced him out, but he expressed enthusiasm about his performance, which he acknowledged was “a bit track-specific” at the new Madring.

“I was pretty much matching [Alexander] Albon's pace throughout,” Perez remarked. “I was within a second or two until the issue arose. So it was a very strong weekend for the team in terms of speed. We pushed everything, we were at the limit with the brakes, but we pushed to the utmost, and [I’m] pleased with that.”

Perez took advantage of a dynamic start, moving from 18th to 16th, overtaking Yuki Tsunoda and Carlos Sainz, but what impressed him the most was his speed in comparison to Albon, whom he was closely following.

Alexander Albon, Williams, leads Sergio Perez, Cadillac

“That's the most encouraging aspect of the weekend: we were competitive from the first lap to the finish,” the Mexican added. “I believe we were actually quicker than Albon during the second stint, so I’m really pleased with that. We just need to maintain this momentum and ensure reliability, but as a team, I'm proud that we pushed everything to the limit.”

Albon and Perez followed the same strategy, making their comparison straightforward – both began on the medium tires and switched to hards during the virtual safety car.

In the first stint, Perez was 0.403 seconds slower per lap, but after switching to the harder compound, the Cadillac driver became 0.351 seconds faster – until he began losing time due to his technical issue and blue flags.

The sample size is relatively small – 11 significant laps in the first stint, eight in the second – but the data is consistent and clear.

Teammate Valtteri Bottas, however, had a less favorable afternoon in Madrid, finishing toward the back of the field and expressing less enthusiasm, particularly as reliability issues continued for Cadillac. The team has faced 11 retirements or non-starts so far in 2026 – significantly fewer than Aston Martin’s 15, but considerably more than the next team on the list, Williams (seven).

“We know we need to enhance our performance,” the Finn joked nervously. “The car still isn’t sturdy enough, and we need to increase its speed significantly. The degradation today highlights how much we are lacking, it’s way more than the competition.

Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac Racing

“Ultimately, we were significantly lacking in pace. We anticipated a challenging race, but it turned out to be even tougher than expected. We also had to manage brake temperatures throughout the race, which required a lot of lift-and-coast. But we finished, and that’s a positive.”

When Perez's contentment with matching Albon's pace was mentioned, Bottas offered a nuanced perspective: “At the start, we can keep up, as we’ve seen, but as the race goes on, the degradation worsens.

“However, for the next event, I’m more optimistic that we can be competitive. Baku has only high-speed corners that are flat out; otherwise, it’s slow to medium-speed.”

Cadillac will therefore strive to surpass its best results thus far – 18th in grand prix qualifying and 14th on race days – in Azerbaijan, where the MAC-26’s lack of downforce shouldn’t be as detrimental.