Cadillac's Pérez extension is a bet on experience, and the head-to-head backs it

Cadillac has not scored a point in its first Formula 1 season, and it just committed to Sergio Pérez through at least 2029. That looks odd until you read it as what it is: a team with no history paying for someone who has seen how a grid works from the inside.

The deal

The team announced the extension this week, ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix, Pérez's home race. ESPN describes it as a three-year extension, and the wording "at least" leaves room for the deal to run longer. Nobody is calling this a reward for results. Pérez has no points in 2026, and so does his teammate Bottas.

The teammate comparison

If Bottas had been clearly faster, the extension would be hard to defend. He has not been. Pérez leads Bottas 10-8 in Grand Prix qualifying, a margin of two sessions, which is close to a tie. In races the gap opens up: Pérez leads 12-4, according to both Sky Sports and Formula1.com.

That race number matters more than the qualifying one for a team in this position. A car at the back of the field gets points from survival, tyre management and clean starts, and those are the parts of the job a veteran handles best. Pérez has finished ahead of his teammate three times out of four when both cars reached the flag.

Why experience suits a new team

A new team has to answer questions that established teams settled years ago. Which setup direction is real and which is noise? Does a car problem come from the aero, the mechanical balance or the driver? A rookie cannot answer those because he has nothing to compare against. A driver with a long career at other teams can, and engineers can turn that into a development plan.

Continuity has its own value. Cadillac does not need a new face every year while it builds a base of data and processes. Signing Pérez for several seasons means the people designing the next car know who will drive it and what he wants from it.

The risk

The risk is plain. A multi-year deal for a veteran only pays off if the car gets good enough for his experience to show up in the standings. If development stalls, Cadillac will have spent three seasons on a driver who cannot move the team forward alone. The contract also takes away flexibility if a young driver emerges and the team wants him.

That is the trade. Cadillac chose stability and a proven feedback loop over a lottery ticket. With a margin of 12-4 in races over the only other driver who has the same car, the team has a fair case that Pérez is the safer pick to help it climb from the back of the grid.