Valtteri Bottas was upbeat following qualifying for the Miami Grand Prix because his Cadillac felt “like a different car” compared with previous rounds in the 2026 Formula 1 season.
It has been a testing start to Cadillac’s debut campaign, as it is one of two teams alongside Aston Martin yet to score a point with the season now on its fourth race weekend in Miami.
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Cadillac has usually been between two to four seconds off the pace in Q1 this year, and although that continued into qualifying for Sunday’s grand prix, Bottas could see the potential.
It comes after the American outfit brought nine different upgrades to its first home race, leading to Bottas qualifying 20th – 2.976s off the quickest Q1 time – though he will start 19th due to Isack Hadjar’s disqualification.
“We could see that some things were not performing as they should in my car and now it was a lot better,” said the Cadillac driver.
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“It was like a different car so I was actually struggling a little bit with the balance because of that but in a positive way, because I gained some rear grip in this session. So hopefully that helps tomorrow.”
Bottas is therefore confident that Cadillac has made progress despite still being up to two seconds off the Q2 pace.
Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac Racing
Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac Racing
When asked if the team has made a step forward, the veteran replied: “Yeah, I think so. Positions are still the same than before, but I think the gap is a bit closer to many other teams.
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“So, I think we’re getting there step by step but we’re still understanding, we still need to understand better many things.”
Bottas qualified one spot and three tenths above team-mate Sergio Perez, who thinks Cadillac could have beaten Aston Martin – the gap was at least five tenths – had he produced a clean lap.
“We got a much better run yesterday than today,” said Perez. “We did a lot of changes obviously today, which I think we probably took a step back and then qualifying for me was very messy, missing the second lap, which was my mistake pressing the wrong button.
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“On the third lap I had a massive overdelivery as I was braking into [Turn] 14 and I just went straight, so I lost that lap as well unfortunately.
“I think we could have been very close to Fernando [Alonso], if not ahead. But yeah, we certainly looked a lot more competitive yesterday.”
Additional reporting by Stuart Codling
Photos from Miami GP – SaturdayAndrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
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Aston Martin F1 Team Garage
Aston Martin F1 Team Garage
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Tribute to Alex Zanardi
Tribute to Alex Zanardi
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
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Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
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Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
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Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
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Sergio Perez, Cadillac Racing
Sergio Perez, Cadillac Racing
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Zak Brown, McLaren
Zak Brown, McLaren
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George Russell, Mercedes
George Russell, Mercedes
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Lando Norris, McLaren
Lando Norris, McLaren
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
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Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
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Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
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Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
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Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
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Lando Norris, McLaren
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Lando Norris, McLaren
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Lando Norris, McLaren
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Lando Norris, McLaren
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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren
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Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
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Tribute to the late Alex Zanardi
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Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing
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Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Team
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Franco Colapinto, Alpine
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Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing
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Lando Norris, McLaren
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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Oscar Piastri, McLaren, George Russell, Mercedes
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
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Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren
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Pierre Gasly, Alpine
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George Russell, Mercedes, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
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Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls
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Nico Hülkenberg, Audi F1 Team
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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
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Lando Norris, McLaren
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Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari
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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
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Nico Hülkenberg, Audi F1 Team
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
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Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
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Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
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Lando Norris, McLaren
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Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
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Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes
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