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Cadillac’s choice of driver line-up for their first season in Formula 1 made total sense: A pair of veterans with over 400 grand prix starts between them, grand prix-winning pedigrees and recent experience of world championship teams. One particularly intriguing aspect of the choice of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez was it offered the chance to directly compare the team mates of the 2021 world championship contenders. However it seems to soon to draw any conclusions at this stage.Cadillac have performed respectably well for total newcomers, the inevitable teething problems notwithstanding. However they have had several reliability problems which have led to either Bottas, Perez or both coming to an early stop in grands prix, usually with smoke coming from one corner of the car. The qualifying scoreline therefore provides the most useful benchmark between the pair and makes for interesting reading. While Perez has a slender lead in terms of which driver has come out ahead, the trend was clearly moving in his team mate’s direction before the summer break. This is perhaps to be expected, as Perez was able to start testing with the team before Bottas, who was on reserve duties at Mercedes last season. This is the only team where neither driver has scored a point so far. However Perez should have had a point in Monaco, where he was originally classified 10th, only to be demoted for failing to follow the start procedure correctly. The honour of scoring Cadillac’s first F1 point could have been worth more than just pride. With the team clearly keen to parachute reserve driver Colton Herta into one of its seats next year, the Bottas-Perez battle could take on an added significance in the second half of 2026. Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and | AUS | CHI | JAP | MIA | CAN | MON | SPA | AUT | GBR | BEL | HUN | || | Bottas | Q | ||||||||||| | R | Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and Unrepresentative comparisons omitted. Negative value: Bottas was faster; Positive value: Perez was faster Formula 1 - Alonso vs Stroll: 2026 F1 team mates’ head-to-head scores at summer break - Sainz Jnr vs Albon: 2026 team mates head-to-head at summer break - Poll: Is F1 risking too much by letting drivers set qualifying times under yellow flags? - History: 50 years since the last time a woman started a Formula 1 race - Bortoleto vs Hulkenberg: 2026 F1 team mates’ head-to-head scores at summer break