Cadillac has spent much of its debut Formula 1 campaign keeping Aston Martin well adrift in its rear-view mirrors – but Valtteri Bottas fears that might soon change.
The Silverstone-based outfit has arrived at this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix armed with what it describes as a significant aerodynamic overhaul of its troubled AMR26, effectively rolling out a B-spec challenger in a desperate bid to rescue a dismal season.
And while the team has been careful not to oversell the package, Bottas isn't pretending he isn't paying attention.
Bottas wary of Aston Martin's all-new package
Rumours swirling through the Budapest paddock suggest Aston Martin has gone much further than a conventional update, with whispers that almost the entire car has been redesigned.
Bottas admits those stories have caught his ear – and perhaps raised his pulse.
“There's lots of rumours, most are saying it's a big step for them, but again, we'll see as the car hits the track,” Bottas told reporters on Thursday at the Hungaroring.
“One rumour I heard that the only thing that is the same than the current car is the front suspension, everything else is new. So, let's see. Quite curious about that.
“At the same time, a little bit scared in a way that if they make a big step, then we're at the back. But in the end, we can only focus on our job. We shouldn’t waste our energy on that.”
Those comments reflect just how much is riding on Aston Martin's latest roll of the dice.
The British team languishes at the foot of the constructors' standings, clinging to 10th place only thanks to Fernando Alonso's points finish in Monaco after post-race penalties ahead.
But if the ambitious upgrade delivers as hoped, the competitive order at the back of the grid could change in an instant.
Cadillac won't stop pushing
For now, however, Cadillac has every reason to be encouraged. Its own development programme has produced consistent gains throughout its maiden campaign, with every upgrade adding measurable performance.
The progress was impossible to miss at Spa, where Bottas qualified more than two seconds ahead of the fastest Aston Martin before finishing over 70 seconds clear of Alonso in the race.
The Finn believes that steady upward trend is one of the team's biggest strengths.
“Everything we brought to the car has made it quicker, it's made it better. I think that's really positive for a new team,” he said.
“It's not a guarantee in Formula 1 that the parts that you bring to the car actually works. I think that's promising for the future. So, we've made steps, we haven't made like huge steps, but we've seen progress.
“I think what's been quite evident, if we compare ourselves to Aston, as they haven't really been upgrading the car yet, we've seen that we've been able to get away from them - quite a good chunk - and that has come from these small improvements.”
Team-mate Sergio Perez also expects Aston Martin's long-awaited package to narrow the gap.
"Definitely. They will be developing strong,” said the Mexican. “They're obviously a very strong team, so yeah, I do expect that they will close the gap and we will be moving forward.”
Whether Aston Martin's bold reset proves transformative or simply too little, too late is one of the biggest storylines of the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend.
Cadillac has enjoyed the luxury of looking ahead rather than behind in recent races – but Bottas knows that could change very quickly if Aston Martin finally gets its long-awaited breakthrough.
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