Ted Kravitz suspects Sergio Perez’s Cadillac could have an advantage over Red Bull in one vital area

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Cadillac’s entry into F1 next season will be no easy feat, but Ted Kravitz has identified one area in which Red Bull will be facing the same ‘challenge’.

The American constructor recently announced the signings of Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas as the drivers who will lead them on the track in their maiden season.

Perez had to convince Cadillac that he was the right man for the job in the midst of their recruitment efforts, as the team were looking for a younger driver to partner with the experience of Bottas.

Ahead of the team’s debut in the sport, Ferrari signed a deal with Cadillac to supply engines for them until the end of the 2028 season.

Cadillac consultant Pat Symonds believes Lewis Hamilton will benefit from the new engines, which may, in turn, also benefit his former Mercedes teammate, Bottas.

READ MORE: All to know about General Motors’ Cadillac F1 team from engine to drivers

Red Bull developing their own engine gives them the same ‘challenge’ as Cadillac’s brand new entry

The fact that Cadillac already have someone to develop the engines for them rules out the teething issues that it would cause a new manufacturer.

Speaking in a recent interview with talkSPORT, F1 pundit Ted Kravitz believes it to be one of the reasons why Red Bull is facing the same issue as the American constructor heading into the new 2026 F1 regulations.

Upon being asked how long he thinks it will take for Cadillac to get up to speed, Kravitz replied, “They’ve got a Ferrari power unit, so they’ll know what they’re doing there.

“Arguably, with 2026, it’s going to be a big regulation change with the new power units; it’s going to make quite a bit of difference.

“When you’ve got people starting an entirely new power unit department, like the Ford-backed Red Bull Powertrains in the Racing Bulls and the Red Bull, even though they’re experts on the chassis side, they might have as much challenge as a new chassis manufacturer coming in, but with an experienced power unit.

The words from Kravitz come after the rumours about Red Bull’s 2026 engine being sub-optimal in terms of where it should be in current forecasts.

It was one of the main factors that linked Max Verstappen to an early exit from the team he has spent the majority of his career with, whilst winning four consecutive world championships.

If Kravitz’s theory about the Red Bull engine comes to fruition, it would be an ironic moment for Perez to topple the team that booted him out of the sport in 2024.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

Cadillac aren’t expected to be at the bottom of the grid next season due to Audi’s new engine

Whilst the engine side of things is sorted for Cadillac next year, it still leaves the question of how well their chassis will synergise with the Ferrari engine and produce results from the very get-go.

Martin Brundle has warned Bottas and Perez over potential teething issues with the state of their car in its maiden voyage.

Both drivers are signed to multi-year deals in hopes of being able to develop it into a stage where they can compete at the top in the future.

With Audi also joining the grid next year in a rebrand of Sauber, they will be entering as a new engine manufacturer as well.

Engineers at the German car manufacturers are already well underway in their development of the 2026 engine.

The performance of their debut engine is yet to be known, but the F1 paddock believes Audi’s new venture will be why Cadillac won’t find themselves at the bottom of the grid once the cars hit the track next year.