Why Sergio Perez offers Cadillac a rare shot to break F1 points duck in Baku

Sergio Perez has won at Baku twice, in 2021 and 2023, and it is the one venue on the calendar where his record stands apart from almost every other driver. That history matters to Cadillac, a team still searching for its first point in F1 14 rounds into its debut season, as it heads to Azerbaijan with an upgraded Ferrari power unit reportedly on the way.

Why it matters:

Cadillac's maiden campaign has yielded zero points, mainly because of a chassis that combines excessive aerodynamic drag with a lack of downforce. Baku's low-downforce, high-speed layout could magnify those weaknesses, but Perez's past success gives the team a rare reason for optimism.

The details:

• Baku's heavy braking zones and stop-start 90-degree corners reward sharp pedal modulation and clean exits, matching Perez's rear-end-stability technique.
• His 2023 win came from third on the grid; his 2021 victory arrived after Max Verstappen crashed out of the lead. Both show he can extract maximum value around the Baku walls.
• At the Spanish GP in Madrid, Perez retired with a water leak but insisted the pace was there: “I basically had the same pace as Albon throughout the entire race.” A Monza double finish, with Perez 18th and Bottas 19th, also hinted the drag penalty may be easing.

Between the lines:

Cadillac is a Ferrari customer, and the Scuderia's revised-spec power unit is expected to arrive in Baku. Team principal Marcin Budkowski says energy management remains a key differentiator: “We're getting the same hardware and the same engine, but there's a lot of performance to be unlocked in understanding the intricacies of the energy management.”

What's next:

Even with that upgrade, Baku's low-downforce demands could still expose Cadillac's aero shortfall. Perez's record gives the team optimism it has lacked all season, but converting history into its first point on Saturday depends on more than the driver.