Bottas Records Ninth DNF as Cadillac Admits It Still Doesn't Understand Car's Problems
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- Valtteri Bottas gagal finis di GP Amerika Serikat, menambah koleksi DNF-nya menjadi sembilan musim ini.
- Delapan dari sembilan kegagalan itu disebabkan masalah teknis, memicu keraguan tentang keandalan mobil Cadillac.
- Tim masih dalam proses pembelajaran dan kemungkinan baru menemukan solusi pada musim depan.
Valtteri Bottas had to end his race early once again after suffering a technical failure at the United States Grand Prix on Sunday (20/10/2024). The Finnish driver said the Cadillac team is still struggling to understand the root cause of the car's inconsistent performance.
This is Bottas's ninth DNF of the season, a figure far above his average before joining Cadillac. Eight of the nine failures were related to technical problems, including a suspected power unit issue at the Circuit of The Americas. "It's always disappointing not to finish, especially when the engine sounded unhealthy," he said.
Cadillac still has to address various issues, both in terms of reliability and performance. However, a comprehensive fix is likely to only become visible on next season's car. Bottas also admitted that this season is difficult to evaluate because of so many setbacks. "Sometimes we ourselves don't fully understand what's wrong. This is still a long learning process," he added.
Even so, there is a glimmer of hope. Both Cadillac cars briefly competed closely with Aston Martin and Williams in Austin before eventually falling back. Perez complained about a strategy that left him caught by a blue flag right after his pit stop, losing a lot of time. Meanwhile, Bottas felt the overcast weather and cooler temperatures helped a car that usually struggles in the heat.
"I think it depends a lot on the circuit's characteristics. In the race, I was surprised because we could be closer," said Perez.
Bottas added that the weather factor was key. "Today the clouds helped, the temperature was cooler. We know we're not good in high temperatures, so this was a slight advantage. Honestly I thought it would be harder here, so this result is quite positive. Hopefully Mexico will be better," he hoped.
Mexico will be the next test. The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit will not punish a lack of downforce too much, but temperatures are expected to reach 26 degrees Celsius and be sunny, conditions that usually trouble Cadillac. If Bottas and Perez can overcome those limitations, there is at least something to build confidence on heading into next season.
The question is whether Cadillac can untangle the knot of technical problems before the season ends, or whether it must wait for a new car to be truly competitive.
