Andretti Sounds the Alarm on Cadillac F1 Struggles: Rusty Drivers, Weak Aero, and a Team Already on the Back Foot
Andretti Sounds the Alarm on Cadillac F1 Struggles: Rusty Drivers, Weak Aero, and a Team Already on the Back Foot Cadillac’s long-anticipated Formula 1 arrival was supposed to signal a bold American push into the sport. Instead, just a handful of races into the season, the cracks are already showing—and Mario Andretti isn’t holding back. His assessment cuts straight through the optimism: the drivers aren’t sharp, the car isn’t ready, and the results reflect both.
For a team trying to establish credibility in the most competitive motorsport on the planet, that combination is more than a slow start. It’s a warning sign. Drivers Playing Catch-Up in a Brutal Era At the center of Andretti’s critique are Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez—two experienced names who, on paper, should be stabilizing forces for a new team.
Instead, both are dealing with a fundamental issue that Formula 1 rarely forgives: time away from the cockpit. Bottas spent the previous season on the sidelines as a reserve driver, while Pérez has been out of full-time competition since losing his Red Bull seat at the end of 2025. That absence matters more than ever in today’s F1, where regulations shift rapidly and adaptability is everything.
Andretti’s takeaway is blunt. Both drivers are operating cautiously, not pushing the limits, and that hesitation is costing performance. In a midfield fight where tenths of a second separate success from elimination, that lack of sharpness becomes painfully visible.
So far, the numbers back it up. Cadillac’s best finish is 13th place, and the team hasn’t escaped Q1 in qualifying. That’s not just underwhelming—it’s a clear sign they’re not even in the fight yet.
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