Cadillac's F1 Progress: Closest Performance Yet

0:00It's March 27. This is F1 News Today, your AI-powered team coverage. Cadillac made its Formula 1 debut this year and has struggled as a back marker through the first two races in Melbourne and Shanghai. Drivers Baltary Bottas and Sergio Perez both exited qualifying in the first session there and failed to score any points. The team has typically lagged several seconds behind with technical glitches, but things looked up on Friday at the Japanese Grand Prix. The American squad rolled out new upgrades, including a revised diffuser and fence. Bautas posted 20th in free practice, 1 in 18th in free practice 2, with gaps of 2.824 seconds and 2.4, 8 2 seconds off the leaders. This marked to their closest performance yet to the pack ahead. Bautas called it the team's most competitive day so far, noting they narrowed the gap to nearly everyone in front. For the first time on his side, there were zero issues, letting the crew focus purely on setup and speed.

1:00He felt gains in downforce and stability, putting them ahead of Aston Martin, but still behind Williams. Cadillac engineering consultant Pat Simmons backed that up, saying their main goal is adding more load to the car. Especially consistent rear grip. Early feedback shows good balance across speeds and fuel loads, a solid step forward as they eye the midfield battle. Perez faced a bump in free practice, one after clashing with Williams' Alex Albon at a she-cane, but he ended up 19th there just ahead of Bautas, and 20th in the second session. With the right direction now clear, Cadillac heads into the weekend building momentum.