What is behind Cadillac's reliability issues in Spielberg?

Cadillac left the Austrian Grand Prix with more questions than answers after a promising weekend ended in a frustrating double retirement for Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.

The American outfit introduced a significant package of upgrades at the Red Bull Ring, hoping to improve one of its biggest weaknesses this season – tyre management.

While there were encouraging signs that the new parts had delivered a step forward in performance, recurring reliability problems prevented the team from converting that pace into a result.

The weekend had begun on an optimistic note. Cadillac looked noticeably more competitive in qualifying, with both drivers showing improved pace compared to previous rounds. The upgrades appeared to have made the car more consistent over a single lap, while the team was hopeful they would also help reduce tyre degradation during Sunday's race.

Unfortunately, those hopes were dashed almost immediately after the lights went out. As temperatures climbed during the race, Cadillac once again became the victim of overheating issues that have troubled the team at several events this season.

Bottas was the first to encounter problems after only a handful of laps, retiring from the 71-lap race with what initially appeared to be a brake fire.

Only a few laps later, Perez suffered the very same fate. The Mexican was forced to retire after his brakes overheated, completing Cadillac's first double DNF of the 2026 Formula 1 season.

The result was particularly painful because the American outfit was keen to assess the impact of the upgrade package that should have improved the car's tyre manageent.

"Today was very unfortunate," Perez said after the race. "In the traffic the brakes overheated and we had to retire. We were really in the mix and had the pace to fight with the Williams. I overtook Alex on track, so it's a massive shame that we couldn't make the most of it today."

The six-time Grand Prix winner stressed that understanding the issue before the British Grand Prix would now become a priority: "We really need to go deep on analysis and see what we can figure out for Silverstone."

For Bottas, the disappointment was equally significant. The Finn has now failed to finish the last three races, with Austria following retirements in the previous two Grands Prix. Even more frustrating was the fact that Cadillac had completed considerably more mileage during practice without experiencing any brake concerns.

"We knew that this is one of the most challenging tracks for the brakes and with these high temperatures," Bottas explained. "We didn't see any issues when we completed more laps during practice and then suddenly two laps into the race my brakes overheated."

The experienced Finn admitted reliability has become the team's biggest obstacle: "It's now the third DNF in a row for me, so this is the number one thing we need to get on top of as a team. We need to finish the races to learn more, so this will be our focus going forward."

Team Principal Graeme Lowdon acknowledged the setback but remained confident that Cadillac's underlying progress should not be overlooked. While the retirements prevented the team from scoring points, he believes the upgraded car has taken a genuine step forward in terms of outright pace.

"This has been a challenging weekend, but it's in these moments that a team shows its resilience and strength," Lowdon said. "We have made progress in terms of pace and the gap from the rear of the field is growing, but we need to ensure we have the reliability to demonstrate it."

He added that the days leading up to Silverstone would be crucial as the team investigates the root cause of the failures: "There are no short-cuts in Formula 1. We need to investigate what has happened and move forward. The next few days will be very busy, but I have every confidence in the team to come back stronger in Silverstone."