Valtteri Bottas qualified 19th in Belgium but calls the weekend one of Cadillac’s best. Here he explains the tow strategy with Pérez and the breakthrough in energy management.
Valtteri Bottas qualified 19th for the Belgian Grand Prix, with teammate Sergio Pérez right behind in 20th place. Still, the Finn describes the weekend as one of Cadillac’s best so far. The explanation lies in what didn’t happen: no technical issues, no interrupted sessions, and a car he feels completely confident in for the first time in a long while.
CL Motorsport met Bottas in the media zone after qualifying on Saturday evening.
– As a weekend, it has actually been very straightforward, no problems at all. That’s not a given this year, says Bottas.
– I think we got the most possible out of what we have here, including the new front wing. After today, it feels like I couldn’t have extracted much more than that. That’s my job, and I’m glad it got done today.
Turn order guides Cadillac’s tow strategy
Spa is the track where a tow on the straights matters most of all on the calendar, and Cadillac ran an organized tow game between its drivers in qualifying. Bottas reveals that the team even rotates who gets to be behind.
– For us it was actually simple, because it was Checo’s turn to be second this weekend. He chose to be second, and then he could really control the gap to me. I tried to find other cars around us, but there wasn’t more strategy to it than that, says Bottas.
Drag remains the Achilles’ heel
The fact that both cars still got stuck in Q1 is down to a well-known problem: Cadillac loses too much speed on the straights. Bottas is blunt about the fact that it cannot be solved in the short term.
– We know we still have a lot of drag on the straights. It’s a more long-term thing, there is no quick fix, he says.
Ahead of Sunday’s race, he still sees an opportunity in exactly what ruined qualifying.
– If we can keep up with the others, the tow advantage in sectors 1 and 3 is so big that we might be able to stay in the pack longer than normal.
Energy management has stopped being a surprise
Perhaps the most important success for Cadillac isn’t visible in the results list. With the 2026 regulations, energy management is crucial, and earlier in the season, pace could suddenly disappear in the middle of a lap without warning. That is now a solved mystery, according to Bottas.
– There is still variation in the deployment, but now we understand much better, and I understand much better in the car what you need to do to avoid extra clipping. If you suddenly clip earlier into, say, turn 17, I didn’t previously know during the lap that it was going to happen, for example if I made a mistake with gear selection or the way I took the corner. Now I have a much better understanding, and that means more consistency, says Bottas.
Cadillac remains without points after nine rounds of their debut season. The Belgian Grand Prix starts on Sunday. Full qualifying results can be found at Formula 1’s official site.
Facts: Cadillac’s qualifying weekend in Belgium
- Bottas qualified 19th and Pérez 20th, both eliminated in Q1.
- With 22 cars on the grid this year, six drivers are eliminated in Q1 instead of five.
- Behind Cadillac, only the two Aston Martin drivers Alonso and Stroll finished.
- Cadillac is still without World Championship points after nine of the season’s rounds.
- Spa was the first weekend with the team’s new front wing.
