Cadillac to move from reliability to speed in Bahrain – Lowdon

After a careful shakedown in Barcelona, Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon has confirmed that the US outfit will move on to the next level when it heads to Bahrain later this month, shifting the emphasis from reliability to pure performance as it begins the next phase of testing.

The Barcelona outing, which marked the team’s first extended run with its debut car, was deliberately low-pressure – aimed at laying a solid foundation rather than chasing lap times.

At the Circuit de Catalunya, Cadillac focused first and foremost on the "invisible" work required to get an 11th team off the ground. Lowdon made clear that the priority was to ensure its car didn't fall apart before the season even began.

From Shakedown to Performance Focus

“The target for this week was very much a shakedown – trying to remove all of the different unknowns, ticking off various tests and various kinds of things that are less performance-oriented,” Lowdon told F1.com.

“They’re more to do with reliability and ensuring that we have a stable platform.”

However, the veteran team boss is eager to unleash the car’s potential once the team touches down in Bahrain.

“I think that’s pretty much the same up and down the pit lane. Then in Bahrain, it’s much more of a focus on performance – actually trying to see how fast we can make the cars go – and there hasn’t been much of that so far,” he admitted.

The Barcelona programme involved exploring a range of technical parameters and testing at different extremes, intentionally putting speed on the back burner to iron out early issues.

Read also:

• Team Talk: F1's shakedown week in Barcelona

“It’s been primarily about ensuring that we work through different programmes, testing different parameters, testing things at different extremes, and also working through any niggles that have appeared,” Lowdon explained.

“So I think what we’ll see more of in Bahrain is an intentional turn towards performance instead of reliability.”

Learning and Improving

Cadillac’s Sergio Perez, who took the wheel on Thursday in Barcelona, reflected on the team’s progress and the challenges that remain.

“It was a much better day,” he said. “Obviously, we got a lot of running, a lot of information. We're still fighting a few issues out there, which is great - it was all about it today.

“We are improving on pretty much every run. [There are] issues all around with the power unit, with the car, with a few electronics issues.

“But this is great that things are happening here. We have a lot of work ahead of us, being a new team.”

With Bahrain looming, Cadillac is set to move from methodical reliability tests to performance hunting, giving fans the first real glimpse of what the American team can do when the stopwatch starts ticking.

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