Cadillac Aims for Continued Progress at Japanese Grand Prix
Upon their arrival at the iconic Suzuka circuit for the Japanese Grand Prix, Cadillac expressed a desire to maintain the momentum built during the season’s initial races.
After two practice sessions on Friday, it seems they are on track to meet that objective.
During the first couple of hours, the team experienced a fruitful day, largely due to a set of upgrades they introduced at this venue. Notably, Valtteri Bottas described Friday as “the best day so far this season” according to the team’s report. He managed to complete 52 laps, finishing FP1 in 20th and FP2 in 18th position.
“It’s really enjoyable to be back at my favorite track,” Bottas remarked. “From my perspective, today was our best day yet, and we didn’t encounter any major issues. This allowed us to focus entirely on performance, tweaking the balance and working on the set-up. The updates we introduced this week seem to have provided us with a bit more load and stability, which boosts our confidence that we are advancing.”
Still, Bottas acknowledged a gap compared to the top teams: “We do have some areas where we’re lacking, but at least we’re heading in the right direction. This shows us where we need to keep concentrating our efforts. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.”
On the other hand, Sergio Perez faced a more complicated day. An incident with Alexander Albon towards the end of FP1 caused delays and complicated the schedule for FP2. Nevertheless, he held on to some positives, finishing FP1 in 19th and FP2 in 20th after a total of 32 laps in both sessions.
“This morning, we managed to complete most of our program, and the car felt reasonably balanced,” Perez noted. “Unfortunately, I missed a run due to the incident with Alex at the session’s end. That impacted the remainder of my day, and later I dealt with an issue related to energy supply, which cost me valuable lap time. It wasn’t the easiest day, but given everything, I believe tomorrow will go smoother, especially with what Valtteri experienced.”
Executive engineer Pat Simmons commented that Friday was a “pretty good day” for the team.
“Overall, it was a very good day,” Simmons stated. “With each race, we’re finding our groove. We’ve implemented some small upgrades for this weekend and are still examining the data, but both drivers seem pleased with the car’s balance. After the earlier crash, it took us some time before we got back out for the second session, but aside from that, it was relatively seamless. We hope for more of the same tomorrow and aim to continue improving into the midfield.”
As for the updates, Cadillac has made adjustments to the MAC-26’s diffuser. According to team submissions, they’ve brought an upgraded diffuser along with a diffuser fence to Suzuka. The revised diffuser fence is said to have “reduced edge detail and lower profile,” which reportedly enhances overall ride height behavior and aerodynamics across the operating range.
The new diffuser features a “modern central diffuser trailing edge profile,” aimed at boosting overall performance and increasing rear aerodynamic load.
