Valtteri Bottas climbed out of Cadillac’s brand-new F1 car on Monday with no illusions about what the opening day of running in Barcelona was meant to deliver.
This was not about headlines, lap times or early bragging rights. It was, as the Finn put it, about “debugging” – and he was convinced his new team was far from alone in that process.
Behind closed doors at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Formula 1 quietly began its first proper on-track exploration of the radically different 2026 regulations.
With no official lap times released and security keeping curious onlookers at bay, the story of day one was always going to be told by those inside the cockpit. And Bottas’ message was clear: everyone is still figuring this brave new world out.
A Cold Start and a Long Checklist
For Bottas, now spearheading Cadillac’s debut campaign alongside Sergio Perez, the opening hours were shaped as much by the conditions as by the unfamiliar machinery beneath him.
“It was cold. Early morning, it's quite hard to get the tyres to work here, as we know, but as the temperature picked up, things got a bit better, but we had some issues throughout the day,” Bottas told F1 TV when asked to sum up Monday’s running.
Any frustration was quickly reframed as part of the bigger picture. With lighter, smaller cars and a power unit formula placing far greater emphasis on electric deployment, Bottas stressed that the early days of this new era were inevitably about finding – and fixing – problems.
“It's debugging, that's why we're here and it seems like every team had some issues,” he said.
“It's just now really figuring out those and then getting more and more running each day, but it's just great to be here and in the car.”
That sentiment echoed up and down the pit lane. Seven teams took to the track on day one, each juggling new chassis concepts, unfamiliar systems and power units running in anger for the first time.
A New Era Feels Different – Everywhere
For a driver who has raced through multiple regulation cycles with Williams, Mercedes and Sauber, Bottas needed little reminding that this reset is among the most dramatic the sport has seen.
“It's definitely a big difference to before,” said the 36-year-old. “The cars, they handle different, you have a bit less load, especially in the high-speed corners.”
©Cadillac
Where the 2026 rules truly bite, however, is in the interaction between combustion and electrical power – an area where even the most experienced drivers are back in student mode.
“The PU, you have so much more torque out of the corners, but then you have the battery to manage and again, for Ferrari [Cadillac’s engine supplier], this is the first proper day of running with their power units, so naturally there is a learning curve,” Bottas explained.
For Cadillac, that curve is particularly steep. As Formula 1’s newest entrant, everything from processes to parts is being validated for the first time, with the season-opening Australian Grand Prix looming on the horizon in early March.
Still, Bottas was careful to stress that the challenges facing his new team are shared across the grid.
“So, still lots to learn, lots to improve, but it's quite a challenge for every team and priority list now is get more laps each day.”
Mileage Over Momentum
If there was one statistic that mattered to Bottas on Monday, it was not a lap time – it was the lap count. Even that, he admitted, was modest.
“I think I got a bit more than 30 laps today, some of them just kind of installs and stuff,” he said. “But we need to get some proper running in, get the mileage in, and make sure we get a reliable package for race”
©Cadillac
The sentence trailed off, but the message was unmistakable. Reliability, understanding and steady progress are the currency of this test, not outright pace.
As the five-day shakedown continues – with weather expected to play its part on Tuesday – Bottas’ perspective offers a grounded snapshot of where Formula 1 truly stands.
The 2026 cars may look futuristic and feel radically different, but for now, they are works in progress. And in Barcelona, that is exactly the point.
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