Sergio Perez has known both triumph and heartbreak on the streets of Baku, but this year's Azerbaijan Grand Prix gave him something to be genuinely proud of. The veteran driver produced a complete weekend, one that left him reflecting with real satisfaction once the checkered flag fell. 

Perez finished outside the points in Baku, but he did not sound like a man who had endured a bad weekend. Starting from 20th, he raced with the midfield for most of the afternoon, and the two-time winner here had a clear view of what that meant. 

While talking to the media post-race, the No. 11 driver reflected on his outing and offered a glowing assessment of his performance despite missing out on points. 

"I think it's been one of my best weekends, best performance in Baku, and I've had some good ones here," Perez told the media, as reported by Formula One on their website. 

Sergio Perez has previously won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in 2021 and 2023 and bagged a podium place while he drove for Red Bull. 

However, beyond the result itself, Perez felt he had plenty to take confidence from in how he handled the weekend.

"I'm pretty pleased with that. I think I drove at a high level the whole weekend, especially in the race, but we are simply a second, two seconds off the pace to compete with the others."

Despite all the positives, Perez walked away with a few questions from the weekend; he also pointed out a flaw in his car that left him fighting an uphill battle. 

"We stayed the whole first stint with the Williams, with the Audi, helped by the overtake mode. But at the end, we just didn't have the straight-line speed, we are too draggy on the straights."

The focus now shifts to whether Perez and the team can carry that momentum into the next round of the season. 

Sergio Perez weighs in on Cadillac's road to 2027

While Cadillac failed to get their first-ever Championship point yet again, Perez still sounded positive about the direction in which the team is headed. 

The team's highest finish has been Bottas's 13th in China, and the team has been unable to turn strong stretches of racing into a top-ten finish. With development effectively frozen until the season ends, Perez sees no quick fix waiting in the factory. 

While talking about the same in the aforementioned interview, Perez opened up about another area where the team can continue making progress. 

"I think we don't have anything coming to the car unfortunately, but I think operationally and pushing the team to improve and get the maximum out of the weekends, I think we are heading in that direction," Perez said. 

For Perez, the answer lies in maintaining the pressure behind the scenes.

"We just have to keep pushing a lot harder as a team, and things will come"

If the remaining races are used to sort out the operational side, Cadillac could begin 2027 far better prepared than it began this year. 

Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco