Valtteri Bottas’ adaptation to Cadillac seems to have entered a new phase in the 2026 Formula 1 season. The Finn stated that, after a difficult start this year, he finally feels that he is driving at the level he considers ideal.
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After spending 2025 as Mercedes’ third driver, Bottas took over one of Cadillac’s cars in his debut in the category this year. According to the experienced driver, the first months were marked by technical difficulties and a lack of equipment consistency, but the team managed to identify the causes of the problems, allowing for progress in the last stages.
In an interview during the Hungarian GP weekend, Bottas explained that confidence increased as the car began to show more predictable behavior: “The start was a bit complicated. At the beginning of the year, we had several problems with the car and with the consistency of the parts. Sometimes I couldn’t understand why I was losing performance, but we always found the answers, and that was positive,” he said.
The driver highlighted that recent results reflect this progress: “In the last races, I gained much more confidence in the car. We are evolving as a team, and as a driver, you always try to improve. I finally feel that I am driving at the level I should be,” he said.
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Bottas also highlighted that the debut season under the new regulations brought many lessons for everyone: “I have learned a lot this year. With the new rules and new power units, everyone had to figure out how to get the most out of the package. There was a lot of work to solve problems and do debugging, and we still have a mountain of work ahead. We keep learning from this,” he added.
Despite the progress pointed out by the Finn, Cadillac has yet to score points in its debut Formula 1 season. Sergio Perez came close to this goal at the Monaco GP, but a penalty prevented the result. Thus, the team’s best performance remains the 13th place achieved by Bottas in Shanghai. At the Hungarian GP, both cars retired from the race, maintaining the sequence of difficulties faced by the team in the most recent stages.
