Sergio Perez couldn't hide his concern. The Cadillac driver admitted he nearly had a massive shunt with Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson at the Baku Grand Prix. For him, the current state of 2026 F1 cars is dangerously close to the limit.
The Baku incident was the trigger. Perez was defending from Lawson when the difference in power deployment between the two cars caused a drastic speed delta. "I was going to have a massive shunt with Lawson when I was defending from him, because the difference in deployment and power across engines is too dangerous," he said.
He didn't hold back his broader fear. "And I fear something bad is going to happen soon, if we don't make some changes on the regulations," Perez asserted. This statement serves as a wake-up call for the FIA and F1, who are striving to balance performance in the new engine era.
Previously, Oliver Bearman's Japanese GP crash was a wake-up call. The FIA and F1 introduced rule changes to curb lift-and-coast tactics that led to massive closing speed differences between chasing and leading cars. However, Perez believes those fixes are not enough.
Cadillac, the team backed by General Motors, has just joined as a customer team using Ferrari engines. Unfortunately, the Ferrari power unit still lags behind Mercedes and Red Bull. This puts Perez and his teammate, Valtteri Bottas, in risky situations on track.
"I hope they are able to close up the gap," Perez added. "Because at the moment it feels like Mercedes and Red Bull have a very strong engine, and they can get you in places where the deployment is so poor and different to us. The difference in speed is too dangerous."
Ahead of the Bahrain GP at Sepang International Circuit, Perez and Cadillac are still searching for their first points of the 2026 season. The pressure to perform is mounting, but safety remains paramount.
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