Formula 1 Barcelona-Catalunya Pre-Season Testing
‘It seems every team had issues’ – how Valtteri Bottas’ first Cadillac F1 test went
F1 is currently at the start of a five-day private test in Barcelona to kick off the 2026 campaign
Edited: Jan 26, 2026, 5:13 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac
Photo by: Formula 1
New Cadillac driver Valtteri Bottas hinted that problems struck all teams during the opening day of testing for the 2026 Formula 1 season - claiming the purpose of running is to ‘debug’ the 2026 cars.
Monday kickstarted a five-day shakedown at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, but little is known about the action due to it being behind closed doors with no release of lap times and local security even turning away those who try to approach the venue.
This comes as a result of the forthcoming regulation changes, where a car's chassis becomes lighter and smaller with more emphasis on electric power. The result is that everything promises to look vastly different in 2026.
The amount of teams in the championship will also change, as Cadillac joins as the 11th squad and will make its debut with a veteran driver pairing of Bottas and Sergio Perez.
When asked to sum up the opening day of running in Barcelona, Bottas told F1 TV: “It was cold. Early morning, it's quite hard to get the tyres to work here, as we know, but as the temperature picked up, things got a bit better, but we had some issues throughout the day.
“It's debugging, that's why we're here and it seems like every team had some issues. It's just now really figuring out those and then getting more and more running each day, but it's just great to be here and in the car.”
Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac
Photo by: Cadillac Communications
The 10-time grand prix winner, who has previously raced for Williams, Mercedes and Sauber, is not worried by the issues that may arise, as the purpose of the test isn’t to necessarily claim the fastest lap.
Instead it is to understand more about the new regulations, especially at Cadillac where everything is new ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on 6-8 March.
“It's definitely a big difference to before,” said 36-year-old Bottas. “The cars, they handle different, you have a bit less load, especially in the high-speed corners.
“The PU, you have so much more torque out of the corners, but then you have the battery to manage and again, for Ferrari [Cadillac’s engine supplier], this is the first proper day of running with their power units, so naturally there is a learning curve.
“So, still lots to learn, lots to improve, but it's quite a challenge for every team and priority list now is get more laps each day.
“I think I got a bit more than 30 laps today, some of them just kind of installs and stuff, but we need to get some proper running in, get the mileage in, and make sure we get a reliable package for race one.”
Read Also:
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Aston Martin to lose one F1 test day, intends to run in Barcelona on Thursday
Next article Haas 'discovering problems, but that's what we are here for' at Barcelona F1 test
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Valtteri Bottas
Cadillac reveals date for F1 engine factory debut, thanks drivers for being “patient”
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Cadillac reveals date for F1 engine factory debut, thanks drivers for being “patient”
Cadillac’s F1 brakes are still a problem: ‘I had to lift and coast on lap two’
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Cadillac’s F1 brakes are still a problem: ‘I had to lift and coast on lap two’
You Ask The Questions: Valtteri Bottas
Formula 1
Canadian GP
You Ask The Questions: Valtteri Bottas
More from
Cadillac F1 Team
Audi hands F3 runner-up Freddie Slater F1 practice debut
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Audi hands F3 runner-up Freddie Slater F1 practice debut
Sergio Perez: Debut Cadillac season "without a doubt one of my best years"
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
Sergio Perez: Debut Cadillac season "without a doubt one of my best years"
Latest news
Lamborghini World Finals | AM-LC Qualifying: Lewandowski dominates, taking pole for both races
Lamborghini Super Trofeo
LBST Lamborghini Super Trofeo
World Finals - Monza 2026
Lamborghini World Finals | AM-LC Qualifying: Lewandowski dominates, taking pole for both races
Marc Marquez: “In the first half of 2026, all I wanted to do on Sundays was lie on the sofa”
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
7 min
Marc Marquez: “In the first half of 2026, all I wanted to do on Sundays was lie on the sofa”
"Just undriveable" – Isack Hadjar looking for answers after "massive" struggles in Austin practice
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
54 min
"Just undriveable" – Isack Hadjar looking for answers after "massive" struggles in Austin practice
Maverick Vinales: “If I stay at home, I don’t get paid”
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
1 h
Maverick Vinales: “If I stay at home, I don’t get paid”
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe