Perez makes candid Red Bull admission as FIA ADUO engine rankings emerges

perez-red-bull-cadillac-spain-barcelona-jpg

Photo: Race Pictures

13:00, 11 Jun

Samson Ero is a Formula 1 editor at GPblog with seven years’ experience in sports media. He covers key paddock developments, offering analysis on drivers, teams, and performance trends, with work featured on leading platforms.

Sergio Perez has admitted he is not surprised to see the Red Bull Powertrains (RBPT) package ranked among the leading power units following the FIA's ADUO assessment released after the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Cadillac driver acknowledged the scale of the achievement by the Milton Keynes-based outfit, offering praise to his former team for the work carried out on its power unit project. When asked by GPblog and other media outlets in Barcelona about Red Bull being identified as the benchmark in the FIA's ADUO rankings, Perez said:

"Not really, you know. I think it's clear they have a pretty good engine and yeah, they've done a really good job in that regard."

Perez is not the only figure within the paddock who was unsurprised by the FIA's findings. Honda Track Engineering Chief Shintaro Orihara, speaking to GPblog in Barcelona, backed the assessment, noting that the governing body's conclusions largely aligned with Honda's own expectations.

Sergio Perez driving for Cadillac - Photo: Race Pictures

The Japanese engineer also praised the work undertaken by RBPT and expressed admiration for the progress the company has made since embarking on its power unit project. While Red Bull appears to have established itself as the benchmark in terms of internal combustion engine (ICE) performance, Mercedes is understood to be its closest challenger, trailing by around two per cent. Ferrari is believed to sit approximately four per cent behind the benchmark, placing the Italian manufacturer in a position to benefit from additional development opportunities under the regulations.

Audi is thought to occupy the next position, with estimates suggesting a deficit of between four and six per cent, while Honda reportedly faces the steepest challenge, with sources indicating it is currently between six and eight per cent adrift of Red Bull's package.

Perez previews Cadillac's Barcelona challenge

Perez also shared his thoughts on what Cadillac can expect heading into the Barcelona weekend. The Mexican believes the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya will provide a more representative picture of the team's current level and the progress it has made since pre-season testing at the venue earlier this year.

However, Perez admitted he does not expect Cadillac to be as competitive relative to its rivals as it was during the recent races in Monaco and Canada. "It's going to be crucial, you know. It will be nice to see here. I think here will be more of a normal picture of where we are, you know, how much progress we've made since we were here in January,” he explained to GPblog.

"So I don't expect us to be as close as we were in the last two or three weekends. But yeah, we just have to keep finding as much as possible as soon as possible," Perez concluded.