Cadillac has still not scored a single point in its first Formula 1 season, but the team remains convinced it is on the right track with steady progress at each Grand Prix.
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Despite a difficult start, the American project continues to focus on developing its car to become more competitive in the second half of the field.
Sergio Pérez even says he enjoys some battles on track, especially against the Aston Martins and Fernando Alonso: “We have a lot of fun with the Aston Martins, especially fighting against Fernando. It’s always intense, very aggressive but always fair.”
Better managing tire degradation
Pérez acknowledges, however, that Cadillac still suffers greatly from tire management, particularly with the hard compounds. According to him, the team probably should have chosen the medium tires at the last race in Miami.
“We had a lot of degradation with the hard tires. In hindsight, we would have chosen the mediums. It’s something we need to analyze, but understanding this package will be essential to progress further in Canada,” he specifies.
The Mexican driver believes that one of the main short-term focuses is precisely this tire degradation: “We need to better understand this car and try to bring better solutions. We have some ideas, but managing to put everything together will be the main challenge in the coming weeks.”
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No frustration
Despite the lack of immediate results, Perez remains confident in the direction the team is taking: “There is still work to do, but I am sure we are going in the right direction. At times, we can compete with the midfield, but other teams are still able to significantly raise their pace. The season is long, but we are obviously eager to find more performance because we know Aston Martin will continue to improve and we don’t want to be left behind.”
For his part, Valtteri Bottas says he feels no frustration despite the difficulties faced by Cadillac. The Finn recalls that he knew exactly what to expect when joining this rebuilding project: “There is no frustration. I knew there would be tough periods.”
Bottas nevertheless points out that some improvements are starting to appear, notably thanks to the upgrades introduced in Miami: “We are progressing in some areas that are not immediately visible. I think our upgrades worked. Everything is not perfect yet, but overall we are moving in the right direction.”
Points soon?
The main problem remains the loss of performance when the tires start to degrade: “With new tires in qualifying, we were quite good, but as soon as they started to wear, our pace became quite low,” admits Bottas, who also adds that some parts of the car still cause issues.
Even without points so far, Cadillac therefore seems to want to methodically build the foundations of its project rather than seek immediate results. The goal is now clear: stabilize performance, understand the car’s behavior, and gradually start to get closer to the heart of the field before the second half of the season.
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