Sergio Perez ends F1 hiatus with secretive Ferrari test at Imola
Sergio Perez returned to an F1 cockpit for the first time in a year this week.
Sergio Perez returned to an F1 cockpit for the first time in almost a year this week, as he tested a two-year-old Ferrari at Imola.
The Mexican driver recently secured an F1 comeback drive and, for the first time since the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, drove an F1 car.
Sergio Perez completes Imola test with Cadillac and Ferrari
Perez is one of Cadillac’s drivers for the F1 2026 season, as the American squad has plumped for the experienced duo of the Mexican and former Mercedes and Sauber man Valtteri Bottas.
Formerly of Red Bull, Perez had been under contract to race with the Milton Keynes-based squad for this season but was let go after a disappointing 2024 campaign in which he struggled to keep close to World Champion teammate Max Verstappen.
His last race was at Yas Marina for the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and, since then, the Mexican driver has largely kept a low profile as he took some time away from the sport to figure out his next steps.
Securing a drive with the new Cadillac team, there was no obvious way for Perez to get behind the wheel of an F1 car again before the commencement of official pre-season testing in Barcelona in January.
This was because, unlike every other team, Cadillac doesn’t have older cars with which it could utilise the usual Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) running available for the rest of the grid; a similar programme, for example, is what Mercedes used to build up Kimi Antonelli’s time in a real F1 cockpit before his debut this year.
But a deal was struck with Ferrari, Cadillac’s power unit supplier, to allow the American squad to observe the Italian outfit during one of its own TPC outings, with Perez being set loose in a 2023 SF-23.
This would mean Cadillac could gain some valuable experience to train together on processes and procedures by observing Ferrari’s work, with Perez also getting the chance to brush off the cobwebs.
Given the unusual nature of the test, and Ferrari’s running of a driver contracted to another squad, Perez tested in an all-black Ferrari sans its usual livery and sponsorship stickers, while also wearing a blank black racesuit and helmet.
No official information from the test has been revealed by Cadillac or Ferrari, with observations made by Italian media camped out at the circuit throughout the two days of testing.
According to Motorsport Italy, the test team, led by Ferrari chief engineer Xavi Marcos and Alessandro Fusaro, was observed by Cadillac team boss Graeme Lowdon and team manager Peter Crolla as the two teams shared the same garage.
Observers reported that Perez covered 91 laps of the track on the second day of the test, adding to his 93 laps on Thursday, with some pitstop practice added to his programme. Like the first day, Perez only used the hard compound Pirelli tyres.
No official times have been released, although sources have indicated to PlanetF1.com that Perez’s best time was into the 1:16s, faster than the 1:17.27 suggested on social media.
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The two days of running are said to have gone off without a hitch.
Posting on social media afterward to joke about his neck surviving the test, given his exposure to G-forces for the first time in almost a year, Perez is said to have been happy, comfortable, and positively surprised by the outing as the programme was completed.
With the focus having been on training together on procedures and starting to come together as a team, Lowdon was quoted by Motorsport Italy as saying everything is on schedule ahead of the team’s first official pre-season.
“He wasn’t even pushing,’ Lowdon said.
‘The test is just to train the mechanics and learn the procedures. There are still things to improve, but we are on schedule.”
The test with a two-year-old Ferrari perhaps may have exceeded Lowdon’s hopes for what would be possible, given the lack of car availability for his team.
Recently, Lowdon explained the thinking behind seeking such a test when he spoke to the Beyond the Grid podcast.
“We don’t have a previous car. The car isn’t actually important,” he said.
“We’re not looking to do this test to engineer something, which is what a lot of the other teams are looking to do at the minute.
“We want the mechanics to get used to regain that muscle memory of working with a live car, it doesn’t have to be a Formula 1 car. It’s good if it is.
“The reality is, I wouldn’t get too hung up on whether it’s TPC, THC, whatever, or even whether it’s an F1 car.
“What we want is an environment where the mechanics get used to each other, and learn everyone’s way of doing things”.
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