Valtteri Bottas sees Cadillac making progress in his first F1 season, but warns that the new American team is still searching for a connection with the midfield. Thanks to recent upgrades, Cadillac is getting closer to competitors like Haas and Williams, but according to Bottas, the team is still in ‘no man’s land’ for now. He hopes to take another step forward during the Belgian GP thanks to some small upgrades.
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Cadillac had a better weekend at Silverstone than in previous races. Earlier, both Bottas and teammate Sergio Pérez regularly retired due to technical problems. For example, both had to retire during the opening laps of the Austrian GP due to brake issues. “It is absolutely good that we finished this race,” the Finn responded about the race weekend at Silverstone. “In the past three races, that didn’t happen, but now finally it did.”
No Man’s Land
“In addition, we were able to collect a lot of good data again,” he added. Learning from the various Grands Prix is one of the main goals for Cadillac, which has no experience in the top class and therefore immediately faced a large gap compared to the other teams. “It is still quite clear that we are somewhat in no man’s land,” Bottas admitted. “Although sometimes we seemed a bit closer to Haas and Williams.”
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Bottas acknowledged that Cadillac saw opportunities during the early phase of the British GP to stay closer to the competition, but ultimately the team fell back to the familiar positions. “I think we naturally fell back a bit to the known place. That’s exactly why I hoped for a restart in the final phase.” The race was eventually concluded behind the safety car after a late crash by Max Verstappen. “It would have been nice, but it’s a pity the race ended like that.”
The Finn expects Cadillac to take new steps quickly and sees the upcoming races as an important benchmark. “We have two weeks to try to make the car faster,” Bottas focused on Belgium. “I am sure we can add some updates to the car in Spa. So we just have to keep going.”
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Read everything about the Belgian GP here
