Cadillac hit by new-team ‘quality’ issue as Bottas explains Miami disaster

Valtteri Bottas has revealed his drive-through penalty at the Miami Grand Prix was just one of those issues that befall a new Formula 1 team as it finesses its systems.

Simply put, he didn’t press the pit lane limiter button hard enough.

Valtteri Bottas opens up on Cadillac’s Miami pit lane error

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Cadillac joined the Formula 1 grid this season, becoming the sport’s 11th team and its first new outfit since Haas made its debut in 2016.

It has been an interesting start to the season for the American outfit as while Cadillac has yet to score a point, it has brought both cars home in every race bar the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. That Sunday, a fuel system issue saw Bottas retire from the grand prix.

The MAC-26 may not be on the pace of the midfield, but in general, the car is showing good reliability – bar one or two minor issues.

One of those hit Bottas at the Miami Grand Prix when his pit limiter button didn’t work as expected.

That meant the Finn exceeded the speed limit in the pit lane and was slapped with a drive-through penalty, dropping him to the very back of the field where he finished two laps down on race winner Kimi Antonelli.

F1 2026: Valtteri Bottas v Sergio Perez Cadillac scores

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“I pressed the pit limiter button, but apparently not hard enough,” he explained to PlanetF1.com and other media.

“We’re still lacking a bit of feedback on some of the buttons, so another error we’re still working on. It’s been a known issue, we just haven’t got the new buttons yet so hopefully in the next race.

“But yeah, it’s one of the things that happens when you start as a new team.”

“I think we’re still struggling a bit with the quality of certain parts,” the Finn added. “”Not every part is the same that we put in the car, so there’s a bit of a lack of consistency in there, but overall, it’s getting better.”

Bottas and his teammate Sergio Perez have yet to break out of Q1 in any of this season’s six qualifying sessions – four grands prix quails and two Sprint sessions – leaving them running at the back of the field.

The 10-time grand prix winner’s best result was his P13 at the Chinese Grand Prix, a race that only 15 drivers completed.

Bottas, though, says he knew what he was signing up for when he joined the Formula 1 project.

“No, it’s not frustrating. This is what I signed up for. There are going to be difficult times,” he said.

His teammate Perez, who was 16th in Miami, firmly believes Cadillac is taking steps forward.

“There is a bit of work to do, but I’m confident we’re heading in the right direction,” he said.

“I can see at times, you know, as soon as the degradation starts to kick enough, we can be with them, with the midfield. But they are just able to pick up the pace quite a lot.

“So yeah, still a long season, but obviously we are in a massive hurry to find performance, because we know Aston is going to be improving, and we don’t want to be left behind.”

Cadillac are tenth in the Constructors’ Championship, ahead of Aston Martin by virtue of Bottas’ P13 in China.

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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