Cadillac explains Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas differences after 0.8s gap in Canada

Cadillac team principal Graeme Lowdon says it is far too early to draw any conclusions over the performance level of his drivers after shooting down rumours about Valtteri Bottas’s future.

PlanetF1.com revealed earlier this week that rumours that Bottas could be replaced before next weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix are wide of the mark.

Graeme Lowdon discusses Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas pace gap

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• Graeme Lowdon says Cadillac are still learning and experimenting with both cars
• Sergio Perez has outperformed Valtteri Bottas recently, but Cadillac are not concerned
• Setup changes, development work and limited data are influencing early-season comparisons

Speaking to PlanetF1.com and other select media on Friday, Lowdon firmly stated that there is no basis in truth to any of the speculation surrounding Bottas, backing up this publication’s own sources that the contribution of the Finn so far is being viewed very positively as Cadillac finds its feet in Formula 1.

But there is no denying the fact that Perez has had the better run of form in recent races.

Since China, where a clash between the two teammates was triggered by a misjudgement by Perez at the start, the Mexican came home ahead of Bottas in Japan and Miami and was significantly quicker in the Montreal qualifying sessions – he was eight tenths of a second clear in both qualifying sessions at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

It’s worth remembering that Cadillac, as a new team, is not yet operating at the limit of its performance and, indeed, at this early stage in its existence, is learning about how to optimise its operations and manufacturing prowess, as well as ensuring consistency and correlation between its data and the real world.

Between needing to build this data set, and without anyone outside the team having any real knowledge as to the team’s run plans for any given session, Lowdon said there are simply too many variables and too few data points against which it’s possible to gauge just how well either of Cadillac’s drivers is actually doing.

“What I would point to is the sample size here: we’re five grands prix in, and we’re changing things all the time with everything, on both cars, and everything that’s happening with the team, including the personnel supporting everything as well,” he said.

“I’d also point out that we’re ahead of another team, a very well-established team, in the championship, and we’re ahead of them by virtue of Valtteri’s [P13] race finish in China, not Checo’s.

“So I think, based on such a tiny sample size, it is a bit unreasonable for people to draw any kind of dramatic conclusion about Valtteri’s performance.

“Yes, he’s finished behind Checo in Japan and in Miami as well, but there’s an awful lot going on behind the scenes with what we’re doing and what we’re choosing to do in terms of developing the car, car setup and everything else like that.

“It’s way, way, way too early to draw any major conclusions from that.

“That said, all drivers will have good days, bad days, have unfortunate incidents on track that they may not necessarily have much to do with them, or whatever, that’s just kind of how it happens.

“But a sample size of less than half a dozen races is not exactly scientific by any stretch of the imagination.

“If you’re asking if there is something really obvious with his preparation, or with his car or whatever, then no, there’s nothing, no standout reason why there should be any difference.

“Clearly, there’s been some differences in the last couple of races, in terms of pace and stuff like that, and as ever, there are always elements that contribute, whether it’s setup stuff that we’re trying, or damage, or whatever else, or even just performance of the driver – as I said before, that can vary.

“But if the question is whether there is something really obvious here that makes us think we’re really worried, we need to change a driver, then no, there’s nothing at all.”

With Bottas and Perez being hired for the wealth of knowledge and experience they bring, having both driven for world-championship-winning squads at Mercedes and Red Bull respectively, their veteran status also brings a reliable dependability to Cadillac.

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At a time when Cadillac needs mileage and an increased dependence on its drivers getting the cars through full race distances without the drawbacks of youthful exuberance or a fervent desire to impress based on pure pace, increasing the risk of mistakes and crashes, such an experienced pairing makes logical sense.

But while that’s the case for 2026, all but negating any chance that a mid-season change could be made at any point without force majeure circumstances, is there the chance of change for 2027?

PlanetF1.com understands neither Bottas nor Perez is on a single-year deal, with contractual options possible for ’27 at Cadillac, although paddock whispers have suggested Perez has already caught the attention of other teams.

With Herta likely to earn his FIA Super Licence this year – potentially through FP1 appearances with Cadillac even if his eventual F2 championship standing doesn’t improve much beyond his current 12th place – there is the possibility of Cadillac having at least one different driver next year.

But at this point, Lowdon isn’t getting involved in the driver market silly season.

“The first thing I should say is that we, as a team, are very happy with both drivers,” he said when asked about the driver line-up.

“Now that’s not to say, in the case of Valtteri, that either he or we are… we’d prefer to see him having better results, he’s a competitive guy as well, but I should really stress that we’re happy with the input that they’re both doing and the way they’re applying themselves.

“I’d be as happy as anyone else to see Valtteri actually getting the results that he deserves for the input that he’s doing.

“I’m really happy as well for Checo, because he had quite a bold return into the sport, he took a year out with a high-profile exit from the sport and then wasn’t really seen in the paddock for quite some time.

“So you would forgive him for having to get back up to speed with certain things and he’s really hit the ground running.

“It’s interesting in that he hasn’t scored our best result, it’s Valtteri who’s done that, and that makes a massive difference in a championship.

“But I really, really like Checo’s enthusiasm for racing, pure racing; he’s jumped out the car a couple of times, we’re busy racing around for P16 or P17 or whatever, and he jumped out and you’d think that we’d been racing for the podium position or something.

“He clearly thoroughly relishes the challenge of racing with drivers that he respects and that’s fantastic to see.

“It’s very well documented. We chose these drivers not only for their speed, their results and their experience in the car, but also for their experience in multiple teams as well.

“So when you make a decision like that from a team point of view, a risk that you do run is that you could end up with drivers who have that experience, but they might not have the passion, the desire, or the urge, and, right from the get-go, with both of them, they put that fear at rest, instantly.

“To see that level of enthusiasm is great.

“And the other thing I would say is that these are drivers who have spent time in world championship-winning teams, so it would be very easy for them to push the team too quickly and too hard at this moment because they’re used to a standard in everything that is at world championship level, and this is the most difficult world championship of any sport to win anywhere in the world.

“The people who win it are very, very, very good at what they do. So one of the things that has been exceptionally good for us is to have the right approach from both drivers, the amount of pressure that they put onto the team, because it’s important that the team has some pressure is at the right balance and the cadence in which they go about it is at the right pace and everything like that.

“Checo, in particular I think, has really demonstrated that to a great extent, and Valtteri, but I think that’s again something that fans don’t see.

“What they would see is if these guys actually didn’t contribute and push the team way too hard, the steering wheel flung out of the cockpit every time the car stops and there’d be shouting matches and the like.

“People are not seeing that because they’ve got that balance right of pushing everyone in the right direction, but not pushing too hard.

“Building a team from scratch is one of the biggest challenges I’ve ever had. If you try to go too fast, you will fail.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that there is a time that this takes, and if you try to shortcut it, it just won’t work.

“These guys have got that and they play their role in that, and that is again a skill that people don’t really see and quite rightly so.

“No one’s going to buy tickets for seeing people doing some bit of hard work; they want to see wheel-to-wheel racing at the front, and the most competitive form of motorsport in the world.

“That’s what we’re fully focused on and both Valtteri and Checo have exceeded my expectations in their contribution to the overall task at hand.”

Additional reporting by Mat Coch.

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