Cadillac’s Formula 1 debut season took another step forward during Friday’s sprint qualifying session in Las Vegas, despite both Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez being eliminated in SQ1 due to unfortunate timing. The team introduced significant technical updates, including a completely new chassis for Bottas, which showed encouraging signs of performance improvement even though the results didn’t reflect the underlying progress.
Both drivers were building competitive pace during their SQ1 runs when a late red flag disrupted the session at a crucial moment. Bottas was in the middle of what appeared to be a personal-best lap when the interruption occurred, while Pérez had positioned himself tantalizingly close to advancing to SQ2. When the session restarted, neither driver had sufficient time to cross the start-finish line for another qualifying attempt, resulting in disappointing grid positions of 20th for Bottas and 17th for Pérez.
The Finnish driver expressed mixed emotions about the session, stating: “We were unlucky today. I was banking everything on the last two laps but unfortunately that never happened with the red flag.” Despite the setback, Bottas remained optimistic about the technical direction, explaining that the revised chassis made the car feel “better and quite different to the previous races.” He emphasized that with multiple sessions remaining in the sprint weekend format, opportunities for redemption still exist.
Pérez delivered one of his most composed Friday performances of the season, narrowly missing SQ2 advancement by mere fractions. The Mexican driver felt satisfied with his execution, commenting: “I think we maximised our performance today, which is something that makes me pleased.” He noted that targeted setup changes made before sprint qualifying provided immediate improvements, positioning the team well for Saturday’s sprint race and Sunday’s main event, particularly with challenging weather conditions anticipated.
Team Principal Graeme Lowdon maintained an optimistic outlook despite the qualifying disappointment, emphasizing the operational progress made throughout Friday. “Today felt like we took another step forward,” Lowdon explained, highlighting the team’s reliability and focused approach despite multiple red flag interruptions. He confirmed that both cars were positioned to potentially advance to SQ2 before the session’s premature conclusion, demonstrating the genuine pace improvements from Cadillac’s latest upgrades.
The American manufacturer’s approach reflects a long-term development strategy focused on data gathering and consistent improvement rather than immediate results. With the sprint race providing additional track time and setup opportunities before Sunday’s Grand Prix, Cadillac appears positioned to maximize learning from their technical updates while building momentum for the remainder of the Las Vegas weekend and beyond.