Sergio Pérez has secured a contract extension with new Formula 1 team Cadillac, meaning he is expected to keep his seat until the end of the decade.
Perez and veteran teammate Valtteri Bottas had joined the upstart F1 team this season on “multi-year” contracts, although these are not expected to extend beyond 2027.
Unlike his teammate Bottas, there has been no talk of Pérez retaining the seat for next year – but Cadillac has now underlined its commitment and satisfaction to Pérez by announcing a new deal on the eve of its home race, the Mexican Grand Prix.
The deal was announced as being “until at least 2029”, which The Race reports includes the 2029 season.
When each F1 driver’s contract expires
Perez is set to record his 300th F1 start this weekend, the seventh driver to do so, and the new contract means that in the coming years he is set to overtake Jenson Button, Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello and Kimi Raikkonen for third place in the all-time starts rankings.
This would put him behind Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.
“Building a competitive team in F1 is a long-term journey, and securing Checo’s talent and leadership gives us the continuity and commitment we need to build on the strong foundations established in our first year,” said Dan Towriss, team CEO.
Although neither Cadillac driver scored points this year – Perez finished 10th on the road at Monaco but was denied by a post-race time penalty – Perez separated himself from Bottas in terms of performance, with a marginal advantage in qualifying and a more pronounced advantage in race pace.
Bottas, however, argued that due to it being a new team with inevitable teething problems – not to mention the first year of a very peculiar new regulation – there was no consistency between the machines between the two sides of the garage to allow for a fair comparison.
But Perez’s extension suggests Cadillac doesn’t really see things that way – especially as it emerged last weekend that the team was not yet willing to commit to Bottas, not just longer term but for 2027.
Development drivers like Colton Herta, Frederik Vesti and Yuki Tsunoda have been mooted as alternative options for Perez’s 2027 teammate.
If Perez takes this new deal as announced, 2029 will mark his 18th season in F1, at age 39.
Gn sports
