Perez delivers Herta verdict as he weighs in on Cadillac teammate decision
Source: Racepictures
Kieran is a freelance Formula 1 journalist for GPblog, covering breaking news, live race blogs and feature content across the F1 calendar. An NQJ-qualified journalist with more than a decade of experience, he has previously written for publications including MailOnline, the Manchester Evening News and the Eastern Daily Press.
Sergio Perez has weighed in on the debate surrounding whether Colton Herta or Valtteri Bottas will be his Cadillac teammate next season, as he warned that the team need to "evolve extremely quickly" ahead of the 2027 campaign.
Herta will take part in another FP1 session this weekend, helping the Cadillac driver to secure his Formula 1 Super Licence. Perez, who will be driving his 300th race of his career at his home Mexican Grand Prix this weekend, said Herta has provided valuable information to the team, although the limited running in FP1 has made it difficult to assess his outright performance.
“Well, I think he is doing a good job. He is bringing good feedback to the team, good information, which is all that we need of him,” Perez said, when asked about Herta during Thursday's press conference.
“Obviously, doing FP1s is very difficult to show your speed or the level that you are at. But now I think he’s had a bit more time in the car and we are starting to see more of his speed.”
Perez does not want any say in teammate choice
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Photo: Race Pictures
Perez stopped short of expressing a preference between Herta and Bottas, pointing to the positive relationship he already has with his current team-mate.
“Obviously, it’s not my decision, but I think it would be down to Marcin [Budkowski] to decide who they want in the car,” he continued. I’m also working really well with Valtteri. I think he’s been very unfortunate in a few races. It’s not an easy decision for the team.”
Asked whether he would be consulted over the choice, Perez made clear he would prefer to leave that responsibility to those making the decision.
“No, not at all. I don’t want to as well because that’s not my decision,” he said. That’s obviously why we have someone like Marcin, who will be looking at all the information and data and making that decision on who he thinks is best for the future of the team.
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“Obviously, we are in a period where we need to evolve extremely quickly. The next three or four months are crucial for our preparation.”
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