Cadillac have confirmed they will introduce a “substantial” upgrade package at the Austrian Grand Prix in their mission to close the gap to the midfield, with the team still seeking their first points of the season.
The American outfit came closest to the top 10 with Sergio Perez at the Monaco Grand Prix before he was penalised for a start infringement and demoted from P10 to P15. While the result was disappointing, it also demonstrated how much the newcomers have improved in a short time.
Perez’s performance was countered by concerning brake issues for his team mate Valtteri Bottas, which continued at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix weekend, and caused him to beach his car during FP3.
He later retired from the race due to overheating troubles, leaving Cadillac keen to improve their reliability and start afresh in Austria.
“The races now come along in rapid succession, and meeting that logistical element while improving our competitive performance is one of the key challenges of this part of the year,” Team Principal Graeme Lowdown said ahead of this weekend’s race in Austria.
“We are however pleased to be able to bring another substantial upgrade package this weekend. With new sidepods and floor it’s a significant amount of work and we hope that it will continue our trajectory of steadily catching-up to the midfield.
“We don’t underestimate the challenges Austria presents, but we’re learning all the time and I’m confident we can make progress again this weekend.”
The combination of extreme elevation changes and high track temperatures at the Red Bull Ring will undoubtedly put their aerodynamic upgrades – which include a revised floor and bodywork – to the test, but both drivers appeared optimistic that they can deliver a strong result.
“Every race it feels that we’re making progress, and there was a lot of valuable learning in getting to the chequered flag in Barcelona,” said Perez. “The rate of development is very good, everyone back at the factory is going full speed to deliver new parts to the track, and the upgrade we have this weekend will hopefully provide another step.”
Bottas, who previously enjoyed success in Austria with both Williams and Mercedes, added: “We are always learning from experiences to understand the issues, develop the car. We’re doing that, and making progress every week.
“I have great memories of this circuit, not just the victories in 2017 and 2020, but also my first front row start, and first F1 podium, which I had here in 2014. This is going to be a tough weekend – but it’s one I’m really looking forward to.”
