Perez calls for answers after dramatic Cadillac suspension failure ends Canadian GP

Sergio Perez has demanded a thorough investigation into the suspension failure that ended his Canadian Grand Prix prematurely, insisting the team must identify the root cause of what he described as a far-from-ideal situation.

"It's something we need to investigate, understand, and hopefully get on top of, because it's not ideal what happened," Perez told assembled media including RacingNews365.

Operational Frustrations Mount for Cadillac

"Operationally, we are still lacking a lot, and we are not making progress in terms of performance, so we need to maximise the car performance at the moment," he said.

His words carried a pointed edge. The operational shortcomings, he noted, were visible not only in the race but in qualifying on Saturday too. "We are making progress on performance, which is very positive. But on the operational side, it's something that we are lacking tremendously, and we have to really find our way for the European season now."

He was blunt about the urgency of the situation: "It's something that we have to improve, and we are in a massive hurry, because we are not maximising the results."

It is worth noting that Perez had already faced difficulties at this event before the race had even begun — he was issued a driving reprimand in qualifying for failing to follow the Turn 13 procedure outlined in the Race Director's Competition Notes — a further sign of a weekend that never fully came together.

The Intermediate Gamble That Backfired

Before the suspension drama brought his race to a definitive close, Perez was caught up in a strategic misstep that affected a significant portion of the field. He was among seven drivers to start on intermediate tyres, alongside team-mate Valtteri Bottas, McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, Audi's Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, and Williams' Carlos Sainz.

For all but Sainz — who salvaged a ninth-place finish — the gamble backfired badly. The conditions that appeared uncertain on the grid cleared faster than anticipated, leaving everyone on intermediates badly exposed in the early laps.

"The laps to the grid, it felt like it was 50-50. It was really hard to choose a tyre. And then when we went into the race with so many aborts, the rain calmed down quite a bit, and it was a lot clearer for the slick tyre," Perez explained.

The damage was swift and irreversible. "We took the gamble. I felt like it had stopped raining a little bit less, but it became a lot clearer that we were on the wrong tyre very early on. Within three laps, we killed the inter, and that was the biggest issue there."

It was a strategic scenario replicated across the grid, with similar consequences. Max Verstappen was among those who took note of the widespread damage caused by the intermediate tyre calls, even poking fun at the misfortune of those who gambled and lost.

Despite the early setback, Perez managed to regroup and showed some genuine pace in the mid-race stint. "We managed to recover. We had some good pace out there, some good fights with the Haas. We overtook the Haas, and then unfortunately, we had the suspension failure at the end," he said.

For Cadillac, it was a weekend that offered glimpses of genuine potential but was ultimately defined by the things that went wrong — operationally, strategically, and mechanically. As the European season approaches, the pressure to turn those glimpses into consistent results is only going to intensify.