Cadillac finished the qualifying session of the Italian Grand Prix of Formula 1 with its two cars outside the top 10, but gained important positions with penalties applied to other drivers. Valtteri Bottas will start 16th, while Sergio Perez will start 17th.
Bottas originally qualified 19th, ahead of Perez, in 20th, but highlighted the team’s performance in the session: “It was a simple and well-executed qualifying session for us. We had three good laps that put us ahead of Aston Martin and very close to Alex (Albon),” he said.
The Finnish driver also highlighted that the weekend has allowed Cadillac to work on setup details. According to Bottas, the team managed to maximize the package, and with penalties applied to some drivers ahead, achieved its best combined starting position of the season so far.
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Perez, in turn, assessed that the race pace shown by Cadillac could be the main asset to advance during the race: “Overall, I think we did a good job with everything we had today. We have a decent race pace, and that is the most important thing for tomorrow,” added the Mexican.
Team principal Marcin Budkowski also highlighted the result in the qualifying session but urged caution before the race: “We are ahead of Aston Martin and just one hundredth away from gaining another position,” he concluded. For the manager, the race will be long and hot, and the priority will be to stay focused to take advantage of all the opportunities that arise.
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