The Mexican has finished 16th, 15th, 15th and 16th in the first four rounds with Cadillac. If he fails to score in Canada, he will equal the five initial Grands Prix without points from his debut season in 2011 with Sauber. Until now, he had never taken this long.
Sergio Pérez is facing a record he hasn't seen since his first season in Formula 1. The Mexican driver, who in 2026 competes with the debutant team Cadillac, has four Grands Prix without having scored a single point. Australia (16th), China (15th), Japan (15th) and Miami (16th) are too poor a haul for a driver with his experience and track record.
The statistic becomes relevant when reviewing the Mexican's history in the category, since his debut in 2011, the only time he had taken this long to open his scoring account was precisely in that season. Back then, with Sauber, Pérez scored his first points only in the fifth race, the Spanish Grand Prix, where he finished ninth.
That first campaign was marked by bad luck. In Australia, his first race, he had crossed the line in seventh position, but was disqualified along with his teammate Kamui Kobayashi for irregularities in the rear wings. In Malaysia, contact with Sébastien Buemi damaged his car's electrical system and forced him to retire. In China and Turkey he finished, but in 17th and 14th positions, nowhere near the points.
Since then, the Mexican had never repeated such a long drought at the start of a championship. With Sauber in 2012 he scored in his first race, with McLaren in 2013 he did it in the second, with Force India in 2014 and 2015 he also debuted in the first round, in 2016 it was delayed until the fourth race, but no further, in 2017 he scored again from the start, in 2019 it took two races, in 2020, straight away. Already with Red Bull, Pérez went from worrying about scoring to fighting directly for podiums.
Now, with Cadillac in its debut season, the context is different. The American team is the big rookie on the grid and its car is not up to the level of the midfield cars, but the statistical fact remains telling. For now, Pérez has equaled his worst start in terms of races without points (four). The next Grand Prix, in Canada, will be the fifth round of the calendar. If he fails to score there, he will set a negative record that he only registered in his debut season, 15 years ago.
The Mexican driver himself has recognized on several occasions that the adaptation to Cadillac is being complex. The team has had to build everything from scratch and the results are not what was expected. Added to this is the extreme competitiveness of the midfield, where teams like Alpine, Haas and Racing Bulls fight for every point with unusual intensity.
Pérez, who at Red Bull was used to fighting for podiums and wins, should now switch gears. His fight is different. And the priority objective is to prevent the negative statistic from continuing to grow. Canada (June 4 6) presents itself as the first real opportunity to get back on track.