A complicated qualifying weekend for Cadillac F1 at Suzuka, with results at the back of the grid despite potential glimpsed during long runs and hopes of progressing in the race.
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Sergio Pérez will start from 19th position, a ranking that he believes does not reflect the true level of his car.
The Mexican points to a major problem with energy deployment on his MAC-26, equipped with a Ferrari engine, which cost him several tenths per lap: “We lose between three and five tenths per lap because of that. We didn’t manage to fix the problem, so we could have done better. “
A significant deficit in an extremely tight pack, which prevented him from fighting with the Williams cars just ahead.
Low hope in the race
Despite this difficult qualifying, Pérez remains relatively optimistic for the race. He believes that Cadillac has better pace in long-run conditions, which could allow him to move up through the field if the energy problems are corrected: “I hope we can fix that in the race, because I think we have better pace and we could get back into the pack. “
However, the Mexican driver points out that the regulatory adjustments made at Suzuka — notably the reduction of energy deployment from 9 to 8 megajoules in qualifying — have not fundamentally changed the constraints for his team: “On the energy front, nothing has changed for us. We depend too much on that. “
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On a circuit like Suzuka, this weakness is particularly penalizing, especially in the first sector where energy recovery requires long management phases: “It’s not pleasant, we recharge a lot in the first sector. I hope we find better solutions for the next qualifying sessions. “
Bottas clear-eyed despite progress
For his part, Valtteri Bottas gives a more nuanced assessment of the session. The Finn is satisfied to have outpaced the Aston Martins, while acknowledging that the gap to the heart of the pack remains significant: “Even if we’ve made progress, this is where we are. We’re ahead of Aston, but there’s still a gap to the pack. “
Bottas nevertheless believes he achieved a clean qualifying, with a solid final lap corresponding to the car’s current potential. Like Pérez, he is counting on a better race pace to close the gap with the midfield teams.
The example of China, where Cadillac had been more competitive on Sunday, fuels this hope: “In China, the gap was smaller in the race. If we finish, I think we can be closer to the top 10. “
Despite a difficult qualifying, Cadillac therefore sees an opportunity in the race thanks to a more solid pace on long runs. It remains to resolve the energy management problems, a true Achilles’ heel for the American team at the start of this season.
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