Valtteri Bottas has revealed his Cadillac was not "100 per cent" at the Canadian Grand Prix, explaining that some of the issues could not be remedied over the weekend.
The Finnish driver detailed how the changeable nature of his MAC-26 left him lacking confidence in the cockpit at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Even before the round in Montreal, the 10-time grand prix winner had struggled to match the performance of Sergio Perez, and his team-mate comfortably had the measure of him again.
Whilst the eight-tenths deficit in sprint qualifying was not wholly representative, as Bottas was denied a second push lap due to the Fernando Alonso-induced red flag, there was still the same delta between the Cadillac drivers in main qualifying, too.
After finishing the grand prix last on the road and four laps down on winner Kimi Antonelli, the 36-year-old revealed the extent of the problems hindering him.
"We had a few issues [in Montreal] with the setup, the car was very different in each session, and even [in the grand prix], there were some things that we couldn't fix, so the car is not 100%," Bottas told media, including RacingNews365.
"For sure, it's not yet in a place where I can gain good confidence with the car, but also we know that my power wasn't 100%."
Only a handful of rounds into its F1 project, Cadillac is on a steep learning curve. Although there is a lot of work to be done, Bottas was keen to underline the rapid rate of development.
"Performance," the former Williams, Mercedes and Alfa Romeo/Sauber driver promptly responded when asked what the main thing he and the fledgling team are working on.
Elaborating, he added: "Both mechanically and aero-wise equally, we've got to improve and find new parts, but there are parts coming for pretty much each race, and that's a good thing."
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding as they look back on last weekend's Canadian Grand Prix! The trio discuss if Kimi Antonelli is now the title favourite, McLaren's major mistake, if Lewis Hamilton is back and Max Verstappen's demand to F1.
Rather watch the podcast? Then click here!
Get the latest F1 news from RacingNews365 directly in your Google feed! Click on the link below and you’ll see your favourite F1 website appearing even more often. That way, you’ll never miss any news, analyses, interviews, or exclusives.
Follow RacingNews365 on GoogleMost read
In this article
Never miss a thing from the Formula 1 season! Add the 2026 F1 schedule to your calendar at the touch of a button. Subscribe below and put the dates and times of every race directly on your PC or smartphone, so you don't miss a second from the new season.
Download the F1 calendar Download the F1 calendar
A variant with just the race and qualifying is also available.
Click here to download it..













Join the conversation!