Mario Andretti, a Cadillac board member, told the Drive to Wynn podcast he hopes the Silverstone-based, Ferrari-powered squad will be “challenging the Top 10 by the end of the 2026 Formula 1 season,” and he said ambitious goals are needed to progress toward race wins.

Two races into Cadillac’s debut F1 campaign the team sits at the back of the grid but has shown early signs of improvement. Valtteri Bottas finished 13th in Shanghai — the team’s best result to that point — and both cars completed the Chinese Grand Prix, marking Cadillac’s first double finish. Reports differ on Sergio Pérez’s exact placing in China: some outlets listed him 14th while others listed 15th. Bottas called the result “decent and a good starting point.”

The opening rounds have underlined the scale of the challenge. Drivers are still adapting — Andretti described Bottas and Pérez as “a bit rusty” after time away from full-time seats — and the team has faced technical shortcomings, including a lack of outright pace, perceived downforce and rear-stability issues, trouble extracting consistent performance from the Ferrari power unit and difficulties managing battery charge. Cadillac had not yet recorded a trouble-free weekend, and Bottas said the squad is, for now, primarily able to compete with Aston Martin. Qualifying deficits have narrowed from roughly four seconds early on to about two seconds: Bottas was 2.261s off Charles Leclerc’s Q1 benchmark in Shanghai, while Pérez had been about 3.1s adrift in Melbourne qualifying.

Team leaders stress an aggressive development programme. Parts are due in Japan and a larger upgrade package is planned after the spring break as engineers work “flat out” to convert improving reliability into stronger on-track performance. Andretti tempered expectations with realism about the scale of the task but said the season’s unpredictability and the strength of the Ferrari power unit could create opportunities for rapid gains.

Sources