Cadillac’s rookie Formula 1 campaign may still be rooted near the back of the grid, but Valtteri Bottas says the American team is already preparing for a much bigger target: a stronger assault in 2027.
The GM team has yet to put its first championship points on the board, and while that still seems like a tall order, progress is being made with each passing session and race.
In Hungary last time out, Bottas revealed that Cadillac is approaching a crucial crossroads in its first season, with one final round of upgrades due before the team begins shifting its resources almost entirely toward next year’s car.
“We still have something coming performance-wise, but no magic, nothing huge,” the Finn explained.
“So obviously, there is a point that we need to shift our focus 100 per cent for next year, which is coming soon.
“It means that we can still make progress, but big steps are more challenging to make because everyone is still bringing their last upgrades.”
Cadillac entered Formula 1 in 2026 only a few years of preparation and was widely expected to start life near the rear of the field. Bottas and fellow veteran Sergio Pérez have been central figures in helping the team understand its new machinery and accelerate development through detailed feedback.
The team has steadily introduced upgrades throughout the season, and Bottas believes that consistency has been one of Cadillac’s most encouraging discoveries.
“Everything we brought to the car has made it quicker, has made it better, so that's really positive for a new team,” he said.
“It's not a guarantee in F1 that the parts that you put in the car actually work. That's promising for the future. So we've made steps.”
While Cadillac has not produced a headline-grabbing leap in performance, Bottas says the data shows a clear upward trend.
One useful benchmark has been Aston Martin, a team Cadillac briefly moved ahead of before the British outfit responded with a significant upgrade package in Hungary.
“We haven't made like huge steps, but we've seen progress,” Bottas said.
“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 further away from them by quite a good chunk.
“That has come from these small improvements.”
The message from Bottas is less about immediate results and more about building confidence in Cadillac’s engineering process.
In Formula 1, new parts do not always deliver what simulations promise, and the fact that Cadillac’s updates have consistently improved the car is being treated internally as an important sign.
With the development tap set to close soon, Cadillac’s final months of 2026 will be as much about learning as scoring points.
The team knows it is unlikely to transform its competitive position overnight, but Bottas’ assessment suggests the foundations are becoming firmer with each upgrade.
For a newcomer still finding its feet in Formula 1, that may be the most valuable progress of all.
Few Formula 1 liveries have become as instantly recognizable as Force India’s pink cars, but…
It's Nigel Mansell's 73rd birthday today and we've chosen a specific shot from the past…
Meet Halo, the newest and fluffiest addition to team Hamilton! It turns out the seven-time…
Audi Formula 1 boss Mattia Binotto has addressed the speculation linking Carlos Sainz and Oscar…
Liam Lawson believes his impressive 2026 campaign is the product of both personal growth and…
It appears that Red Bull Racing has found the man tasked with stepping into one…