It is the moment every team dreads — and for Cadillac, it arrived in just their second-ever Formula 1 race. On the opening lap of the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix, Sergio Perez attempted a move on his own teammate Valtteri Bottas at Shanghai’s Turn 3, misjudged the available space, and spun. The incident left Bottas with significant floor damage and Perez at the back of the field — not ideal circumstances for a team still finding its feet in Formula 1’s most competitive era.

The saving grace? Both cars finished. And Perez wasted no time in owning the mistake entirely.

How It Happened

Both Cadillac drivers had made solid starts from the back of the grid — Bottas from P20, Perez from P22 — and were making progress through the field as the leading cars ahead jostled in the opening corners. As the pair emerged from the sweeping Turn 2 and headed towards the tighter Turn 3 left-hander, Perez spotted a gap on the inside of his teammate. With Nico Hulkenberg’s Audi also present on the other side, Bottas had nowhere to go as his own teammate tried to slice through.

The result was inevitable. Perez’s front-right wheel clipped Bottas’ sidepod, sending the Mexican into a spin and scattering both cars wide. Bottas continued — but with a large section of his car’s floor missing from the left side. Perez rejoined last, losing several seconds before the lap-10 Safety Car — triggered by Lance Stroll’s stricken Aston Martin — allowed him to catch back up to the field.

« That was all on me. I saw the gap, I went for it. But obviously, looking at it, Valtteri had nowhere to go. »

— Sergio Perez, post-race, Shanghai

Perez Takes Full Responsibility

There was no ambiguity, no deflection, and no attempt to share the blame. Perez — a driver with 12 years of Formula 1 experience and 35 race victories — was unequivocal in accepting fault and extending an immediate apology to both his teammate and the wider Cadillac team.

« It was very optimistic, so full apologies on that one to Valtteri and the team. It’s how it should be — when there are no bad intentions between teammates, it’s important to apologise and realise that you messed up. »

— Sergio Perez, post-race press conference, Shanghai

The veteran also described the feeling of hitting a teammate as among the worst in motorsport. « That’s the worst feeling you can have, for myself, for the team, » he admitted. « Luckily, nothing really happened, and the incident I think was just a misjudgement from my side. »

The race did not get much easier for Perez after his recovery. Having caught back up to Bottas in the second stint, he was about to deploy his overtake mode on the back straight when a power unit issue wiped out five seconds of his gap — then a further 15 to 20 seconds later in the race. He was left to rue a lost opportunity on multiple fronts.

Bottas Philosophical — and Proud

Bottas, who only discovered the full extent of the contact from the replays rather than feeling it in the car at the time, was characteristically measured in his response. The Finn, who finished 13th — Cadillac’s best result of their young F1 career — refused to dwell on what might have been.

« I had a big piece missing from the floor on the left side, so that didn’t help. I just felt the contact, I didn’t really know he was there. But all good in the end — very, very happy to be 13th in our second Grand Prix for the team, getting already close to the points. »

— Valtteri Bottas, post-race, Shanghai

A Positive Story Behind the Incident

For all the drama of Turn 3, the bigger picture for Cadillac was genuinely encouraging. In just their second-ever Grand Prix, both cars crossed the finish line — something that the reigning constructors’ champions McLaren failed to achieve, with neither Lando Norris nor Oscar Piastri making the start due to separate power unit failures. Williams’ Alex Albon and Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto also did not take part, leaving the MAC-26s as among the most reliable machinery on the Shanghai grid.

Bottas was vocal about what the double finish represented for the team. « Very proud, » he said. « For sure we’re lacking pace — it’s pretty much only Aston at the moment that we can fight with. But if we want to beat some other teams, then we need more performance. »

Perez, too, drew some encouragement from the final result despite his difficult afternoon. « The positive thing is that we finished with both cars, » he acknowledged. « The negative is that I think we have a lot of cleaning up to do in a lot of areas to make sure that we don’t lose track position and arrive to races a lot more prepared. »

For a team two races into their F1 existence, a double finish — even from 13th and 15th — is progress. The friendly fire at Turn 3 was an unwanted subplot. The fact that both drivers handled it with maturity, and that Perez immediately and unreservedly took the blame, suggests that whatever growing pains Cadillac face on track, the culture within the garage is already one of the team’s greatest assets.