Cadillac has largely halted the development of its 2026 Formula 1 car, but according to team principal Marcin Budkowski, the American team can still make progress this season. The focus is mainly on solving reliability issues and improving operational processes.
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Budkowski acknowledges that the development of the car naturally slows down at this stage of the season. “We are in a phase of the season where everyone is mainly working on next year’s car,” he explained on Friday at the press conference. A large part of the available resources has now shifted to the 2027 car, while the development pipeline for the current car is slowly drying up.
Reliability issues
In addition, Cadillac has had to use part of its capacity to solve reliability problems. According to Budkowski, this comes at the expense of developing performance updates. Still, the new team principal sees opportunities to gain time this year.
“There is still performance in the car that we can unlock this year,” Budkowski emphasizes. According to him, that gain should mainly come from improving reliability, operational procedures, and the quality of the car.
Tempering expectations
At the same time, Budkowski tempered expectations within the team. Sergio Pérez had previously spoken about a development plateau and already asked Budkowski at his appointment what Cadillac could improve in the short term. “I told him: Checo, I think I need to temper expectations a bit,” the team principal says.
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The message is clear: major updates for the current car are no longer to be expected. Cadillac is focusing its resources mainly on the future but hopes to still make progress in the final phase of the season by improving the existing car.
Work to be done
Budkowski also sees several challenges for Cadillac at the Madring. Especially finding the right balance and keeping the tires at temperature require further optimization, according to the team principal. Confidence in the rear of the car is essential on the fast street circuit. “Valtteri had a bit less confidence in the rear than Checo this morning. In these kinds of fast corners and combinations of left-right corners, you really need a lot of confidence in the rear.”
The first practice day thus confirmed that Cadillac still has work to do. The focus is not only on improving performance but also on finding the right setup for the demanding Madring. “For us, it will mainly be a challenge to keep the tire in good condition throughout a full lap,” says Budkowski. “The walls are close to the track, and you really have to be one with the car. That’s what we will work on.”
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