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Valtteri Bottas believes Cadillac’s new Formula 1 upgrade package for the Austrian Grand Prix can deliver a meaningful step as the team continues its search for a first championship point.
The General Motors-backed project has endured a difficult but expected opening phase as F1’s 11th team. Seven rounds into the 2026 campaign, Cadillac remains scoreless, yet the work behind the scenes has continued as the Silverstone-based operation attempts to close the gap to the midfield.
Sergio Perez had already indicated that a “big” package was coming for the Red Bull Ring, and Bottas has now put more detail around the changes. Cadillac will introduce revisions to its sidepod and floor, with the Finn estimating the update could be worth around 10 points of downforce.
“In theory, it’s a good step forward,” Bottas told media including Motorsport Week on Thursday. “I think we’re talking a region of 10 points of downforce, which is a decent step. And that combined with the reliability updates for the cooling. Yeah, hopefully we can be a bit closer again.”
The update follows Cadillac’s wider Austrian GP development push, with the team having already outlined its substantial package for Spielberg in its latest attempt to move closer to the midfield fight: Cadillac brings substantial Austrian GP upgrade in latest midfield push.
Cadillac has been close enough to the midfield to make small gains significant, but not yet close enough to convert those moments into points. Monaco underlined that frustration when Perez narrowly missed out on reaching Q2 for the first time for the team, falling short by just 0.062 seconds.
Bottas suggested the Austrian package could be worth a few tenths, although he stressed that the team must first validate the numbers on track.
“A few tenths, I think, in theory,” he said. “But yeah, again, we’re going to see. We’re going to do some error runs in the beginning of it. We want to see what is the actual effect compared to the past. And then we’ll see, but hopefully it works as it should.”
While Cadillac’s form remains a work in progress, Bottas arrives at the Red Bull Ring with clear personal confidence. The former Williams and Mercedes driver has been a pole-sitter in Austria three times and has taken seven podiums there, including three wins.
That record gives him a strong foundation for a weekend in which Cadillac needs execution as much as performance.
“It’s a different feeling that you go to the track that normally has been good,” Bottas explained. “So, yeah, I know the way around here. I know how a good lap needs to be driven. So, yeah, everything is pretty clear in my mind of the approach for the weekend. And yeah, it’s confident coming for this weekend.”
Whether that confidence and Cadillac’s upgraded package can finally break the team’s qualifying barrier or deliver its first F1 points remains the central question in Spielberg.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.
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