Valtteri Bottas Cools Concerns Over Cadillac's First-Day Problems At F1 Testing

Valtteri Bottas has conceded that Cadillac has faced "issues" on its first day of running in a Formula 1 official test. But the veteran Finnish driver has cooled concerns by insisting that "that's why we are here."

Cadillac faces a steep learning curve in the top echelon of single-seater motorsport this year, joining F1 as a brand-new outfit to take the grid to 22 cars.

Cadillac's first day

Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac 2026 test — Cadillac F1 Team

The American brand, a subsidiary of manufacturing giant General Motors, will be based in Fishers, Indiana and Silverstone, England as it attempts to make its mark on the world championship.

It enters at a time where F1 is ushering in new technical regulations, with car aerodynamics changing as well as power units. Cadillac will run on Ferrari power until it develops its own later in the decade.

Having completed a shakedown at Silverstone, the team ran in an official F1 session for the first time on Monday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

MORE: F1 Pre-Season Test Day 1 Round-Up: Surprises, Delays and No-Shows

The test is being held behind closed doors as teams privately conduct a forensic shakedown of their cars. All are permitted to run on any three of the five days between Monday and Friday before public running commences in Bahrain in February.

Both Bottas and teammate Sergio Perez - rivals when at Mercedes and Red Bull - drove the car on day one, but mileage was limited as Cadillac understandably encountered problems, as all teams are certain to do during this early phase of the development cycle.

This is where it begins.

Valtteri’s first lap as a Cadillac Formula 1® Team driver 🫡 pic.twitter.com/IF74boB9G8
— Cadillac Formula 1 Team (@Cadillac_F1) January 26, 2026

Recapping his day, Bottas, who won 10 grands prix as a Mercedes driver, explained: "It was cold in the early morning. It's quite hard to get the tyres to work here, as we know.

"But yeah, as the temperature picked up, things got a bit better, but we had some issues throughout the day. Like I said, it's de-bugging. That's why we're here. It seems like every team had some issues. So yeah, it's just now really figuring those out and then getting more and more running each day. But like I said, just great to be here and in the car."

The Bahrain International Circuit hosts two tests in February before the first race of the season is held at Melbourne's Albert Park for the Australian Grand Prix.

Cadillac will be joined by another new team on the grid, though Audi has a head start, having taken over the former Sauber outfit based at Hinwil, Switzerland.

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