Cadillac pace improves, but brake failures sink Austrian GP
NXTbets Pro | Published On: June 29, 2026
Cadillac brake failures
Cadillac left the Austrian Grand Prix with both cars retired after overheating brake failures cut short the race for Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas. Bottas stopped on lap 2 of 71, and Perez’s race ended after four laps. Both drivers said the team needs to fix the problem and start finishing races. Perez called the reliability issues unacceptable and said Cadillac cannot have these sort of issues. He said the brake trouble did not show up in practice and appeared to worsen with race-day heat and traffic. Bottas said he got no warning before the brakes overheated almost immediately and said the front brakes caught fire. The damage turned a weekend with real promise into another empty finish for a team still trying to build trust in its package.
Cadillac upgrade pace
Cadillac brought a major upgrade package to the Red Bull Ring and saw clear gains before the race fell apart. The upgraded car showed stronger qualifying pace and looked competitive enough to be in the mix with Williams. Both Cadillac cars still went out in Q1, but the performance jump pointed to progress in outright speed. Friday running also exposed how fragile the weekend had become. Perez dealt with electrical issues in FP1 and FP2, which slowed the team’s preparation. Bottas had his own problem when the front floor tray sparked and then burned because of a build error. Even with those setbacks, Bottas said the new sidepods and floor made the car feel more consistent. He also said there was still more lap time to find with cleaner laps. That mix of improvement and instability shaped the entire weekend. Cadillac had more pace, but it could not convert that speed into a clean run.
Cadillac reliability
Team principal Graeme Lowdon said the car’s outright pace has improved, but he put the focus on the next step, solving the reliability issue before the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. That message fit the mood inside the garage after another double retirement. Bottas also carried a rough personal run through Austria. The result was his third straight DNF, and he had not finished a race since the Canadian Grand Prix in May. Cadillac’s broader numbers show how much work remains in its debut Formula 1 season. Through the first eight rounds, the team had managed only three races finished by both cars. The speed gains matter, and the new package offered proof that the direction is right. The finishing record matters more. Cadillac now has a car that can look sharper over a lap, but it still has to prove it can survive a race distance and turn that pace into points.
