Formula 1, Sportrik Media - Sergio Perez suffered a major setback at the start of his 2026 Chinese Grand Prix weekend after being ruled out of sprint qualifying due to a technical issue with his car.
The Cadillac driver endured a difficult sole free practice session at the Shanghai International Circuit, finishing last on the timing sheets. Perez was more than six and a half seconds slower than the session’s fastest driver, George Russell of Mercedes.
In addition to the pace deficit, the Mexican driver completed just 13 laps during the session, significantly fewer than most of the grid, where drivers typically logged between the mid-20s and high-20s in lap count.
Perez had hoped to build momentum through sprint qualifying later in the day. However, the team ultimately decided he would not participate after identifying a mechanical issue during post-session checks.
“Checo won’t be participating in this sprint quali session. The team identified a fuel system issue at the end of the earlier practice session that could not be fixed in time,” a Cadillac team spokesperson confirmed.
The situation leaves Cadillac with only one car competing in sprint qualifying at Shanghai, with team-mate Valtteri Bottas carrying the team’s hopes for the remainder of the session.
The technical setback represents a significant blow for Perez early in the Chinese Grand Prix weekend, particularly under the sprint format which limits the amount of track time available for teams to recover performance.
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