The Cadillac drivers remain calm despite the contact in China

Valtteri Bottas Sergio Pérez and Sergio Perez, who started 19th and 21st respectively on the grid for the Chinese Grand Prix, did not get the best of starts as the two American cars simply collided in the second corner. Despite being stranded, Perez was able to rejoin the race, well behind the pack, but the safety car following the pit stop of Lance stroll allowed him to rejoin the peloton. The Mexican made a point of apologizing afterwards.

“It was entirely my fault. I saw an opening, I dived, but Valtteri had nowhere to go. It was a bit too optimistic of me, so I sincerely apologize to Valtteri and the team. It ultimately cost me the race; I spun and ended up far back.”

The old pilot Red Bull However, the rest of the race didn't go much more smoothly. Having rejoined his teammate's slipstream, he began to experience problems with energy management. Not serious enough to prevent him from finishing, but still significant enough to cost him several seconds to the Finn.

“I came back, I was about to overtake Valtteri on the straight but suddenly I had deployment problems, I lost five seconds the first time, then fifteen seconds the second time. So we need to improve in that respect. We really need to have a clean weekend from start to finish, that's not the case yet, so we need to keep working hard to make that happen.”

On the other side of the garage, despite the early contact, Valtteri Bottas had a much cleaner race, without any major issues. For the former driver Mercedes BenzHaving been forced to retire in Melbourne before the halfway point, these advances may seem minimal on paper, but they reflect a maturity that the project is gaining race after race, already finding itself battling against... Aston Martin designed by Adrian Newey, and who did not expect to be grinding away at the back of the grid.

“Sergio and I touched, but these things happen. I didn’t see him and I didn’t have room on the outside. We’ve already spoken, everything’s fine. I’m just happy we both finished; that was the main objective today, as well as fighting against the Aston Martins, which we did. Honestly, I’m very proud of everyone; this is our second race in…” Formula 1 and we finished in 13th place. We made progress in all areas between the two races, which is very good to see, and we're moving in the right direction step by step, even if we still have a lot of work to do.

Although two Grands Prix out of the 22 on the calendar currently represent only a limited sample on which to judge Cadillac's season, the American team is making a strong impression, arriving in Formula 1 without any prior experience in the sport. car At this level, Dan Towriss's team has worked diligently and diligently, and while their performance isn't yet at midfield level, unsurprisingly, the MAC-26s have comfortably achieved 107% in the first two rounds of the championship and continue to progress at their own pace. The third round, at Suzuka, will present a new challenge for the team, before the race-free month of April gives the American team members time to review all the processes implemented during the first three-race stretch.

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