Sergio Perez revealed that his management had held talks with other Formula 1 teams about a potential 2027 switch, but he wants to remain part of Cadillac to help drive the team forward.
It had been rumoured that Perez's management team had been in discussions with Williams about a drive, should Carlos Sainz have elected to leave the team. Sainz then signed a multi-year extension with the Grove outfit, closing off that potential avenue.
Perez has also been linked with the likes of Alpine, but the team will stick with Franco Colapinto for 2027 as the Argentine's performances have improved over the course of his first full year at the Enstone outfit.
Regardless, the Mexican driver told Formula 1's Beyond the Grid podcast that he is fully committed to the Cadillac project and wants to continue to help with the growth of the American squad beyond its debut season.
"For me, nothing has changed," he said. "Of course, we've had conversations with other teams and here and there, a few teams have been calling and stuff, but for me, nothing has changed.
"I see this as my project and I want to be part of Cadillac. I really believe [in it].
"I don't think this is a one-year project. I think this is a long-term project that I want to be part of. Obviously, there will be some discussions, but this is where I want to be and nothing has changed from my side."
Perez added that he wished to see the team improve, and was keen to the impact of new team principal Marcin Budkowski on the team. Budkowski took over from Graeme Lowdon, as the Northumbrian was let go by Cadillac during the summer break.
Speaking about what Cadillac needed to do to improve, Perez explained that it was not simply a performance-related pursuit, but how the team works operationally to get on top of pitstops, strategy, and other aspects laid out by the track team.
"I want to see more progress. Closing out the gap to the teams ahead of us," he said. "I don't know who's ahead at the moment, I don't know if it's Williams, Aston seems to have become part [of the midfield] and being able to mix with them more in the races.
"Being able to close that gap will only allow us to start next year in a much better shape. And that's something I want to see. Obviously, I'm looking forward to work with Marcin and see his leadership.
"I think there's a lot of room for improvement. Not just on performance, operationally, pitstops, strategy, tyres.
"There's so much still - we've only done the 11th race in our history. So there's a lot of things. But I want to see much more progress. Closing out the gap and then I think that will give us a massive boost to start next year."
