– 48 race laps for Sergio Perez, 13 race laps for Valtteri Bottas: This is the sobering balance sheet for Formula 1 newcomer Cadillac at the 2026 Hungarian Grand Prix on the Hungaroring. Both drivers retired prematurely from the race due to defects – again. The series of breakdowns at Cadillac has thus intensified again before the summer break.
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For Perez, the situation is now “more than worrying,” as he explained on Sunday evening: “We are a new team, and to a certain extent, you expect such problems. Nevertheless, it is naturally frustrating that it has happened so often now.”
He doesn’t yet know what specifically led to his retirement. “The suspension simply broke in Turn 5,” said Perez.
It manifested itself as follows: His left front wheel suddenly started to “flutter,” so Perez could no longer hold the line and went off. Although he brought his Cadillac MAC-26 back onto the track through the run-off area and then into the pit lane, continuing the race with the damage was out of the question.
This also concerns Perez’s teammate Bottas. He said: “It’s already the second time that our second car has retired due to suspension damage. So it’s absolutely clear what area we need to work on and what problems we need to solve so that we can finally finish races.”
Cadillac’s new brake duct cannot prevent defect
Bottas himself had been stopped early by a brake fire. Until his retirement, he had to save fuel and conserve the brakes – “meaning lifting off the throttle earlier and letting the car roll,” Bottas explained. It was no use: “At one point we thought we had the situation under control again, but suddenly practically everything was in flames.”
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And that, even though Cadillac had taken extra measures to prevent exactly that: A new brake duct was supposed to ventilate the front brakes better than before. “Obviously, we still need more airflow. That became clear in Hungary,” said Bottas.
However, he shows understanding given temperatures around 30 degrees Celsius: “The conditions were extreme – with an exceptionally demanding track and very high loads. The brakes simply get too hot there. At some point, everything inside starts to burn, and that practically destroys the entire system.”
What Sergio Perez now expects from Cadillac
Bottas therefore had no choice but to pull the car over to the side of the track so that marshals could help with fire extinguishers. “I had no braking power left at all,” said Bottas. “I suspect the brake lines were burning. That’s why I had to drive the car into the wall to slow it down.”
From his Cadillac team, however, Perez now expects full throttle in the investigation of the causes: “I am sure we will use the summer break to eliminate all these weaknesses and improve in all areas and departments. That will be crucial for how well we develop in the second half of the season.”
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Currently, Cadillac is the only Formula 1 team without championship points. After Aston Martin’s extensive technical update, the US racing team is now also considered the new backmarker: In qualifying in Hungary, Cadillac’s gap to the best time was 2.6 seconds.
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