Sergio Perez, Ferrari, Fiorano, 2011

Sergio Perez will drive a Ferrari Formula 1 car again, 14 years after his first run for the team, in a test for Cadillac next month.

The former Ferrari Driver Academy member will take part in a two-day test for his new team Cadillac, which will join the grid in 2026. As Cadillac does not have a car of its own to use Ferrari, its power unit supplier, is providing one.

“We gave two of our TPC [testing of previous cars] test days to Cadillac,” said Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur yesterday. The test will take place at the Imola circuit which is less than 100 kilometres from Ferrari’s factory.

Perez, who left Red Bull at the end of last season, is the only one of Cadillac’s race drivers who is not currently contracted to a team. His 2026 team mate Valtteri Bottas is a reserve driver for Mercedes.

Vasseur said the test will give Cadillac valuable experience of running an F1 garage and the systems it requires before pre-season testing begins at the Circuit de Catalunya on January 26th.

“The challenge for them is huge,” he said. “The issue is not too much about the car, I would say. Strangely, it’s more the logistics – the set-up of the garage, the infrastructure, the IT systems, and so on. I think it’s a good test for them to put everything in place.”

Perez originally tested for Ferrari during his first season as a Formula 1 driver in 2011 when he raced for another of their customer teams, Sauber. He and fellow FDA member Jules Bianchi drove Ferrari’s 2009-specification F60 at their Fiorano test track.

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F1 will hold three pre-season tests next year, comprising five days at the Circuit de Catalunya plus two three-day tests in Bahrain. The championship will begin in Melbourne with the first race on March 8th.

Pictures: Perez’s 2011 test for Ferrari

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