Bottas says Cadillac updates delivered pace gains despite Austria reliability woes

Valtteri Bottas has pointed to Cadillac’s narrowing deficit to Aston Martin as proof that the team’s latest upgrade package is working, even after a difficult Friday and Saturday at the Austrian Grand Prix left both he and Sergio Perez eliminated in Q1 at the Red Bull Ring.

The American outfit arrived in Spielberg with significant changes to the sidepods and a new floor specification, primarily aimed at reducing the tyre degradation that has plagued the team throughout the season. The weekend’s reliability troubles, however, obscured some of the gains. Perez was hampered by an electrical fault that repeatedly shut his car down across both Friday practice sessions, while Bottas dealt with a front floor tray that first sparked and then caught fire — traced to a build error that caused the bib to drag on the floor.

Despite both drivers failing to improve on their final qualifying laps — Bottas noting he began his last run too close to Perez — the pair finished nearly a second clear of the Aston Martins, a margin Bottas cited as tangible evidence of progress.

“Looking at the gap to Aston, I think we can see that we’ve made the car quicker with the upgrades, so that’s good,” Bottas said. “There’s still a bit of a gap to the cars ahead, but it is step by step. I was in the last run a bit too close to Checo on that last lap, so there was probably a couple of tenths more.”

The Finn also highlighted the improved consistency the new floor has brought. “We’ve got these new-spec floors for this weekend, they seem much more consistent. With a clean lap I should have found a bit more time, so I’m a bit more confident at the moment.”

While the qualifying result was underwhelming, Sunday’s race represents the real examination of the update’s core purpose. Track temperatures at the Red Bull Ring are expected to exceed 50 degrees Celsius, placing heavy thermal stress on tyres and brakes — precisely the conditions that have exposed Cadillac’s weaknesses in previous rounds.

“It’s just bringing a bit more downforce in the car, a little bit less sliding, which is going to help in the race as well,” Bottas explained. “Tomorrow is going to be a real test for the tyre deg with these temperatures. And also for us with the cooling — we know we’ve had some brake cooling issues. If we survive tomorrow, then that’s good news for the rest of the year.”

The team’s limited running across the weekend means full conclusions remain premature, but Bottas suggested there is further performance still to be extracted as the team builds understanding of the updated package.