Cadillac had a mixed day with the free practice sessions at the Japanese GP. In this third stage of the 2026 Formula 1 season, Valtteri Bottas ended the day relatively satisfied, while Sergio Pérez faced problems in the second free practice session.
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Throughout the two sessions, the rookie team’s pair was unable to complete as many laps, with 84 in their tally. And Checo had to deal with a troubled start to the weekend, as he was unable to run much in FP2.
“This morning, we completed most of the program and the car was quite balanced. I lost a lap at the end of the session due to the incident with Alex [Albon], which ended up affecting the rest of the day, since we went out late to the track”, he said.
“When I finally managed to get back, we had another problem with power distribution and lost a lot of time per lap. It wasn’t an easy day and it’s hard to draw many conclusions, but we’ll analyze everything that Valtteri said and try for a smoother day tomorrow”, he added.
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Meanwhile, Valtteri had a more consistent day and in the end, closed the standings in 18th place. “First of all, it’s great to drive again at my favorite track. On my side of the garage, today was the best day we’ve had so far this season, with no problems. This meant we could focus entirely on performance, adjusting the balance and working on the car’s setup”, he said.
“I feel we gained some downforce and stability with this week’s updates, which gives me confidence that we’ll see progress. We’re still behind in some areas compared to the top teams, but at least we’re heading in the right direction and now we know, again, where we need to keep focusing. Let’s see what tomorrow brings us”, he concluded.
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