Bottas: Cadillac Still in 'No Man's Land'

Valtteri Bottas said Cadillac's recent Formula 1 upgrades moved the team closer to Haas and Williams at Silverstone, but the newcomer remains "in a little bit of a no man's land" despite its clearest sign yet that development is starting to work.

The British Grand Prix finally gave Cadillac the kind of race it needed to judge its progress. Both cars reached the finish, Bottas ended a run of three straight retirements, and Sergio Perez matched his best result of the season. For a team still trying to turn upgrades into track position, simply getting both cars home mattered.

Bottas said the finish itself was a step forward after a difficult stretch. "It's definitely good to finish, and the last three races we haven't, so now finally, we did it," he said after the race.

More important for Cadillac was the data gathered across a full grand prix distance. Bottas said: "Lots of good information, but it's still pretty clear that we're in a little bit of a no man's land over there. But we seemed at times a bit closer to Haas or the Williams."

That was the first real read on a significant upgrade package the team introduced in Austria. Cadillac had expected Spielberg to show whether the changes were working, but both Bottas and Perez retired in the opening laps with brake fires, leaving the team without a proper evaluation.

Silverstone was more encouraging, but it also exposed the limit of Cadillac's current pace. Bottas climbed to 16th in the early stages, yet he made clear the car could not stay there on merit. Asked if he could hold position, he replied: "Not quite," before adding that "naturally, we were kind of falling to our place."

That leaves Cadillac in a familiar position for an expansion team that has made itself respectable, but still lacks the performance step needed to join the midfield fight consistently. Bottas said the next move will come quickly, with more parts planned for the Belgian Grand Prix.

"We have two weeks to try and make it faster," he said. "I'm sure we will have something in Spa to add to the car. So, we just need to keep chipping away."