Pérez to test Cadillac F1 SF23 at Imola ahead of 2026 return

Sergio "Checo" Pérez, who will not race at this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix, scored a hat-trick in a charity football match in Mexico City on Thursday and used the event to outline preparations for his return to Formula One with Cadillac ahead of the 2026 season. Pérez said he will take part in a two-day test at Imola in November, driving a 2023 Ferrari SF23 as part of a driver and personnel acclimatisation programme for Cadillac’s new F1 operation.

The exhibition match, a long-running event that pairs professional athletes with young people from the streets and addiction rehabilitation programmes, saw Pérez come on as a substitute and help his side to victory. “I couldn’t miss it this year. We’ve been doing this event for 10 years,” Pérez told reporters, adding that although he would not be racing at the Mexican Grand Prix, it was “always nice to see so many friends and fans.”

Away from the pitch, Pérez described intensive simulator work and a programme of physical testing aimed at rebuilding race fitness and integrating with Cadillac’s engineers and mechanics. He said November’s Imola outing will be “very useful” for working with mechanics and engineers ahead of a full...