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Sergio Pérez is back behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, but not in the way he once imagined. No Red Bull in championship mode, but a completely black Ferrari SF-23 on a quiet test day at Imola. The session is designed to prepare him for his comeback with the new Cadillac F1 team, which will use a Ferrari power unit in its first years on the grid. The images of Pérez in the bare carbon Ferrari went around the world in seconds, yet behind those photos lies a much bigger story. This is his sporting rehabilitation, Cadillac’s entry into Formula 1 and a lesson in how newcomers survive in an era of budget caps and limited testing.
Pérez’s Road Back From the Sidelines
After his exit from Red Bull, Pérez disappeared from the spotlight for a full season. No race seat, only rumours, simulator work and occasional marketing appearances. The private test at Imola is the first concrete step back toward the starting grid. In that black Ferrari, it is not about headline lap times. It is about rhythm, references and rebuilding trust in his own instincts. A driver who has been away from top level competition for a year has to re-learn braking points, feeling for grip and race intuition.
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A day like this is tightly regulated. Because of strict testing limits, Pérez is not allowed to try secret new parts or evaluate future Cadillac-specific solutions. The focus is on learning how the Ferrari power unit behaves, how it delivers its energy, how the hybrid systems rotate power through the lap and how all of that links to brake balance and chassis characteristics. The line between what is allowed and what is not is razor sharp. Cadillac can benefit from the experience Pérez gains, but there are clear rules around sharing set-up data and engine software.
Psychologically, the session is at least as important as the technical work. For Pérez, this is confirmation that he still belongs in the club. The engine note in his ears, the back and forth with engineers, switching modes between runs, it is a routine he has missed for a long time. Every clean lap without errors helps to rebuild the confidence that slowly eroded during the difficult final Red Bull seasons.
Cadillac, Ferrari and the Politics of a New F1 Team
The fact that Cadillac, as a new F1 entrant, initially leans on Ferrari for power units is not a sign of weakness. It is a logical strategic choice. Building a works engine from scratch requires years, billions in investment and a complete ecosystem of dynos, specialists and test programmes. By running a Ferrari engine in the first seasons, Cadillac can concentrate on team structure, chassis development and operational stability.
Ferrari, in turn, gains an important customer, extra data and another shop window for its power unit. For both sides, Pérez is the ideal bridge. He brings experience from the front of the grid, knows various engine concepts and understands what it takes to launch a new project. The fact that he is already working closely with Ferrari engineers and systems is no coincidence. The better he speaks the language of Maranello, the easier it will be to translate that knowledge into the American Cadillac camp.
Alongside Pérez, Valtteri Bottas is waiting as his experienced teammate. Their driver line-up sends a clear message. Cadillac is not chasing attention with wild gambles, but building around two proven references who know how a factory team should function. The combination of an American brand name, European technology and seasoned drivers is intended to form the foundation for a credible debut.
The Visual Message of the Black Ferrari
In the end, it was not the technical briefing notes but the photos that sparked the first wave of attention. Pérez in a matte, almost entirely black Ferrari SF-23, with minimal branding and naked carbon on display, fired imaginations immediately. On X and Instagram the images
were shared at speed, often stripped of context. Some saw an alternative Ferrari livery, others a video game skin that had suddenly come to life.
That visual language is not accidental. A neutral, dark car shifts the focus onto the driver and onto the idea of a test platform. No shouting sponsor logos, but a visual statement that says above all: this is work in progress, not a launch. International media gladly used the images as clickbait, but often stopped at aesthetics.
For GPToday, the deeper layer is what matters. This test shows how modern newcomers in Formula 1 have to shuffle partners, test days and drivers in order to progress. With limited official testing and tight regulations, old chassis, customer engines and experienced drivers are combined into a kind of rolling laboratory. The black Ferrari is more than a striking picture. It is the symbol of a new way of building up a team.
What Cadillac and Pérez Can Realistically Achieve
The big question is what all of this will deliver once Cadillac actually lines up on the grid. Realistically, the team will spend its early seasons fighting in the midfield, searching for stability, reliability and a clear development path. The history of new teams shows that even with strong partners and experienced drivers, the road forward is rarely straightforward.
Pérez will play a key role in that phase. His experience with top teams, his knowledge of different aero packages and his ability to guide a car into a stable set-up window are exactly what a young project needs. He does not need to win races immediately to be valuable. His task is to steer Cadillac through the growing pains and prepare the team for the step toward the front.
For the Mexican, this is the chance to write a second career chapter. No longer in a dominant Red Bull, but as a central figure in a growth project that will forever have his name attached to its early years. If Cadillac becomes genuinely competitive within a few seasons, nobody will forget that black Ferrari in Imola. Then this quiet test day will be seen as the moment when the road back truly began.
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