Cadillac F1 hoping to continue ‘progress’ at Japanese Grand Prix

Formula 1’s newest team has made “significant” progress over their first two races on the grid.

Now they are setting their sights higher for this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.

Only Sergio Pérez was able to see the checkered flag at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, but both Pérez and teammate Valtteri Bottas completed the full race distance at the Chinese Grand Prix, a huge step forward for the sport’s newest team.

In the team’s media preview for the Japanese Grand Prix, CEO Dan Towriss hailed the “progress” already being made by Cadillac.

“What this team has achieved in just two races speaks volumes about the discipline, talent, and relentless work happening across Silverstone, Indianapolis, and Charlotte,” said Towriss. “We believe our process will continue to accelerate progress as we look to build this team the right way. Now we head to Japan — one of the great stages in Formula 1 — and there’s real excitement across the team to be there and take on this challenge.”

Team principal Graeme Lowdon noted that Cadillac has made “significant steps forward” over just two races, and that the team is “progressing quickly” as they adjust to life on the grid.

“From Australia to China, we made significant steps forward in only a short amount of time,” said Lowdon. “We are progressing quickly and every session we are learning more about ourselves as a team. Our performance improves every time we hit the track, thanks to continuing teamwork, operational refinements and, of course, our growing understanding of the car. All this contributes to improving reliability and then our ability to race other teams.

“I am convinced we have a very special group of people here and I’m looking forward to building on the strong foundation we established at the beginning of the season as we move to Suzuka this weekend.”

Both drivers are hoping the team can keep pushing in Japan, given the progress made to date.

“The team has been pushing hard over the first two races of the season, and we have already made clear progress. The Sprint weekend in China was another new challenge, but we handled it well and came away stronger,” said Pérez. “I’m excited to continue pushing at Suzuka, a real drivers’ circuit and one where I’ve had podiums before. While the higher downforce configuration will make it a more difficult weekend for us, we’ll approach it in the same way — focus on having trouble-free sessions, progress each time we hit the track and get to the end of the race.”

“I really enjoy Japan for many reasons, and I have great memories of my win in 2019. We aren’t in that position at Cadillac yet, but the Chinese Grand Prix felt good,” added Bottas. “Having both cars finish in only our second-ever race was really important for us. We have taken a lot of learnings from Shanghai and are in a stronger position heading to Suzuka.”