Cadillac’s Brake Problem Persists: Bottas Says “I Had To Lift And Coast On Lap Two”
Valtteri Bottas was again hindered by Cadillac’s well-documented brake overheating problem in the Singapore GP, though he says it is “almost solved”. His race pace, however, was too slow to be explained by brake management alone.
Cadillac driver Valtteri Bottas was again hindered by his team’s season-long brake problem in the Singapore Grand Prix. Although the veteran Finn says the issue is “almost solved”, Singapore showed the brakes are still not fully reliable.
A season-long issue
Brake overheating has been a problem throughout the season on the MAC-26, causing four retirements on top of the occasional performance loss from the required management. Cadillac brought upgrades to Hungary and Azerbaijan to fix it, with the Baku update reducing brake temperatures by 100 degrees according to Bottas.
Singapore again needed management
The upgrades did not deliver a trouble-free race in Singapore. Bottas said he had to start increasing lift-and-coast on lap two. Eventually things stabilised and he did not need to lift and coast for a while, but the problem then came back. Asked whether the race had been a test for the brake upgrades, Bottas softened his stance, pointing out that they finished with both cars. In his view, the problem is almost solved, they should be fine for the rest of the year, and next year’s design is expected to be quite a bit different.
Brake management does not explain the pace
The lift-and-coast does not justify Bottas’s dismal pace in Singapore. The Finn finished almost a lap behind team mate Sergio Perez, with a deficit of 96 seconds under the chequered flag, equal to an average loss of 1.6 seconds per lap. Bottas said he was at a loss to explain it. He had no pace at all in the first stint, talking about a second a lap, and it was pretty much the same story throughout the race. He said he was getting feedback from the team on where to gain lap time and was trying everything, but when he gained in one part of a corner he lost in another. All he could say was that the ride felt really poor that day, like a step change from something.