The Mexican returned to action in a blacked-out version of Ferrari’s 2023 challenger, loaned to Cadillac under F1’s Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) regulations.
Around 20 Cadillac personnel joined forces with 30 Ferrari staff in pit boxes 16 and 17 as the new American outfit conducted its first live track operations.
Perez, who was let go by Red Bull at the end of 2024 and will return to full-time racing with Cadillac next season, used the outing not only to reconnect with F1 machinery but to benchmark his physical condition ahead of winter training.
“I think it’s great to get the running and also the timing works perfectly because it’s just before the January test,” he told F1.com.
“On these two days, on the physical side, I want to see how much I’ve lost, where I need to work on.
“It will give me a very good guide for the winter, to be able to focus on that stuff.”
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The 35-year-old arrived at Imola after completing a seat fit at Ferrari’s Maranello base and is scheduled for a second day of running on Friday.
He said the programme is also helping build early chemistry within the organisation.
“It is also a chance to start working together with the team, with the engineers, with the mechanics and start to speak the same language,” Perez added.
“It’s definitely a great time for us.”
For Cadillac, the exercise is less about outright performance and more about building a race team from the ground up.
Team principal Graeme Lowdon told Speedcafe at the Singapore Grand Prix that the test is designed to give the crew real-world experience after months of virtual preparation.
“As a team we are allowed to go TPC testing, we just have to use somebody else’s car,” he said.
“Obviously, no, we don’t have a 25 car to develop, so to some extent, the title of testing a previous car or testing a current car or testing a historic car is a little bit inaccurate in our instance, because we can’t test a car.
“What we want to test is the people. So we want to get people used to working together. Doing rapid turnarounds that are needed in quali. Doing staff procedures. Doing fit in, fit out procedures.
“That’s kind of what we want to test.”
Cadillac has already run full race-weekend simulations at its base, but Imola marks its first opportunity to apply those processes in a live environment.
The team is gearing up for its 2026 debut at the Australian Grand Prix, with Valtteri Bottas to join alongside Perez once his Mercedes reserve commitments finish at the end of next year.
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