Cadillac to focus on execution at Suzuka after breakthrough double finish in Shanghai

The American outfit opened its Formula 1 campaign by completing its debut race in Melbourne, before Bottas and Perez delivered a double finish in Shanghai, classified 13th and 15th.

It marked steady early progress as the new team continues to establish its baseline.

Suzuka now presents a far more demanding test. Cadillac will introduce minor aerodynamic refinements, including revised mirrors and diffuser fence elements, as it looks to sharpen performance and reliability.

Dan Towriss underlined the scale of the early achievement, saying: “What this team has achieved in just two races speaks volumes about the discipline, talent, and relentless work happening across Silverstone, Indianapolis, and Charlotte.”

He pointed to long term development rather than short term results, adding: “We believe our process will continue to accelerate progress as we look to build this team the right way. Now we head to Japan, one of the great stages in Formula 1, and there’s real excitement across the team to be there and take on this challenge.”

The emphasis remains on structured growth. Cadillac’s early races have prioritised clean execution over outright pace, a strategy that paid off in Shanghai.

Team Principal Graeme Lowdon highlighted the rapid gains made between rounds, he said: “From Australia to China, we made significant steps forward in only a short amount of time.”

He linked that progress directly to operational improvements, and added: “We are progressing quickly and every session we are learning more about ourselves as a team. Our performance improves every time we hit the track, thanks to continuing teamwork, operational refinements and, of course, our growing understanding of the car.”

Reliability remains central to the approach for Lowdon who continued: “All this contributes to improving reliability and then our ability to race other teams. I am convinced we have a very special group of people here and I’m looking forward to building on the strong foundation we established at the beginning of the season as we move to Suzuka this weekend.”

Perez expects Suzuka to expose the car’s current limitations but remains focused on execution, he said: “The team has been pushing hard over the first two races of the season, and we have already made clear progress.

“The Sprint weekend in China was another new challenge, but we handled it well and came away stronger. I’m excited to continue pushing at Suzuka, a real drivers’ circuit and one where I’ve had podiums before."

Looking ahead, he set the priority clearly: “While the higher downforce configuration will make it a more difficult weekend for us, we’ll approach it in the same way, focus on having trouble free sessions, progress each time we hit the track and get to the end of the race.”

Bottas echoed that sentiment, drawing on experience, he said: “I really enjoy Japan for many reasons, and I have great memories of my win in 2019.”

He tempered expectations while recognising momentum: “We aren’t in that position at Cadillac yet, but the Chinese Grand Prix felt good. Having both cars finish in only our second ever race was really important for us. We have taken a lot of learnings from Shanghai and are in a stronger position heading to Suzuka.”

Cadillac now faces its toughest early season test. A clean weekend at Suzuka would confirm that its structured build up is translating into consistent race execution.