Sergio Perez issues ‘painful’ warning ahead of Mexican GP landmark

Sergio Perez will celebrate a major Formula 1 career milestone at the Mexico Grand Prix, as, on home soil, he prepares for a 300th grand prix start.

But, while he is looking forward to the occasion, the 36-year-old also warns that it will likely be a “painful” experience on track, despite a more positive showing for the Cadillac team last time out in Austin.

Sergio Perez prepared for ‘painful’ Mexico GP

Ahead of last week’s action commencing at COTA, Perez spoke of his excitement as he looked ahead to racing in front of his fans again, this a home race with extra significance.

“This year I’m really looking forward to it,” he said.

“We’re doing a road show on the Wednesday before. It’s my 300th race as well at home, so it’s pretty incredible that all of this has happened in Mexico.

“Super, super happy and so much looking forward to it.”

Whether Perez will be able to deliver a result for his supporters to cheer remains to be seen.

The F1 2026 progress made by Aston Martin has seen Cadillac, a new entrant, cut adrift at the back of the pack over recent rounds.

Nonetheless, Perez has proven his continued value upon returning to the sport following a 2025 sabbatical, and recently landed a new multi-year Cadillac contract.

He kept expectations in check when asked for his mindset going into the Mexico GP, following the United States Grand Prix.

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“Just to have a good time, celebrate with them the 300th race and hopefully we can put on a good show, hopefully we can be a little bit more competitive with the attitude etc. We’ll see.

“But overall, I think it’s going to be a painful one as well. There are some races where we seem to be a little bit closer than others. But we will keep pushing.”

Austin could be considered such a race, Perez having finished on the same lap as Williams and Aston Martin, plus a Haas, Audi and a Racing Bulls car.

He was asked whether that closer gap creates confidence going into his home race.

“I think it’s really very track dependent,” he cautioned. “In the race, I was surprised that we were a bit closer in that regard.

“So we just have to keep it down and keep it in control.”

As for Perez’s teammate Valtteri Bottas, the Finn is hopeful over Cadillac’s chances at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

Reflecting on the US GP, he said: “I think what helped was the cloud cover. It was a bit cooler.

“We know we are not great when it’s high temperatures, so that helped a bit. But I thought it’s going to be more difficult for us here, honestly. So that’s why it’s kind of positive, and I think Mexico should be hopefully a bit better for us.”

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