Cadillac says it is encouraged by the progress shown during the Canadian Grand Prix weekend and is approaching the remainder of the season with growing confidence.
Graeme Lowdon, Cadillac’s team principal, expressed great satisfaction with the positive signs displayed by the team during Formula 1’s fifth round of the season. Despite the inevitable challenges faced by such a young organisation, the overall assessment was positive and suggested that the American outfit is moving steadily in the right direction.
Lowdon said: “It was good and it showed progress. We know we still have a lot of work to do in many areas, and this was only our fifth race weekend. We are doing many things for the first time that other teams have been doing for a long time. That’s why it’s important to identify both the positives and the areas where we need to improve the most.”
Track performance, wheel-to-wheel battles and the suspension issue
Sergio Perez provided some of the most encouraging moments of the weekend. In Sprint Qualifying, he came close to reaching SQ2, missing out by just 0.13 seconds. During the Sprint race, he made an excellent start and gained several positions, climbing to 11th place.
The Mexican driver defended strongly against cars that were theoretically faster, although a 10-second penalty for an aggressive move on Liam Lawson ultimately pushed him back down the order. Even so, Sergio Perez demonstrated that he is capable of fighting competitively in the midfield battle.
In the Grand Prix itself, despite starting on intermediate tyres in a strategy that proved unsuccessful as weather conditions improved rapidly, Sergio Perez recovered ground and enjoyed an entertaining battle with Esteban Ocon’s Haas, eventually making the overtake.
Unfortunately, his race ended prematurely due to a front suspension issue, although the team does not believe the failure points to a fundamental design problem.
The Mexican driver remained optimistic when discussing his performance.
“It was fun. When you’re over-delivering weekend after weekend, it’s a great feeling. I’m very happy with my performances and with my level of driving. I’m happy to be back and to have proved to myself that I’m one of the best drivers out there.”
Speaking about the suspension failure, he added: “We managed to recover, we had good pace and we were battling with Haas. We passed the Haas, but unfortunately we had a suspension failure near the end. It’s something we need to understand and fix because it’s not ideal. Operationally we’re still missing a lot, and we’re not maximising the car’s performance as much as we should.”
Graeme Lowdon attempted to reassure everyone regarding the technical issue.
“It appears to be a combination of different factors and we don’t believe it will happen again. It was a very specific scenario, an unusual chain of events. We’ve seen many teams experience similar situations in the past and they are usually caused by a combination of circumstances. It’s something that can be easily prevented.”
Valtteri Bottas’ difficult weekend
Valtteri Bottas endured a more complicated weekend. The Finnish driver never felt fully comfortable with the car from Friday onwards and was forced to make setup changes that further affected his confidence behind the wheel.
During the race, he struggled with oversteer and instability, eventually finishing down in 16th position.
Bottas explained: “It was a tough day in terms of balance. The car was oversteering everywhere, I was completely locked with the differential and we couldn’t fix it. We had setup issues throughout the weekend and the car felt very different in every session. It’s still not 100% and it doesn’t give me complete confidence, even though we know there wasn’t anything fundamentally wrong with my car.”
Looking ahead to Monaco
Graeme Lowdon highlighted the tangible progress the team has been making in recent weeks.
“There is real progress in race pace, in the accuracy of our upgrade predictions and in many other areas that aren’t immediately visible. We’ve seen steps forward both in the Sprint and in today’s race. We’re fighting with Haas and moving into different territory with every event.”
Sergio Perez is already looking forward to the Monaco Grand Prix, a circuit where he has previously enjoyed success.
“Especially in Sprint weekends, a lot can happen and we can be right in the mix. We need to continue finding performance and improving operationally. Monaco is unique in Formula 1 and hopefully we can be competitive there.”
Valtteri Bottas also remains cautious but motivated heading into the next round.
“It’s a track where defending is relatively easy, but the real question is how you overtake the cars ahead. It’s a unique circuit. If you get everything right, there may be an opportunity. And I believe we’ll also have some new upgrades.”
Overall, despite the imperfections that naturally come with a young team, Cadillac is continuing to demonstrate consistent and measurable progress. The American outfit may still be at the beginning of its Formula 1 journey, but the signs from Canada suggest that the foundations for future success are gradually being put in place.
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