Bottas: Cadillac to Shift Focus to 2027 Car Soon

Valtteri Bottas has confirmed that Cadillac will soon stop development of its 2026 F1 car to switch focus to the 2027 challenger. This decision marks a pivotal moment for the new team as it battles at the back of the grid.

Since joining the F1 grid this year, Cadillac has faced a steep learning curve. They often find themselves at the rear, but Bottas believes the progress made so far is encouraging. "We still have something coming performance-wise, but no magic, nothing huge," he told media including RacingNews365.

According to Bottas, the time has come to redirect all resources to the 2027 car. "There is a point that we need to shift our focus 100 per cent for next year, which is coming soon. It means that we can still make progress, but big steps are more challenging to make because everyone is still bringing their last upgrades," the Finn explained.

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This decision comes amid tight midfield competition. Cadillac briefly overtook Aston Martin in the pecking order before the latter introduced a boosted package in Hungary. However, Bottas remains optimistic about the team's development direction.

"Everything we brought to the car has made it quicker, has made it better, so that's really positive for a new team. It's not a guarantee in F1 that the parts that you put in the car actually work. That's promising for the future," Bottas said.

He also highlighted the comparison with Aston Martin, which has not been upgrading its car much. "We've seen that we've been able to get further away from them by quite a good chunk. That has come from these small improvements," he added.

With this strategy, Cadillac hopes to start the 2027 season on a stronger footing. Bottas and teammate Sergio Perez continue to provide valuable feedback, and the team believes this long-term investment will pay off.