Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas reflected on his performance at the 2026 F1 Canadian GP and admitted that his car was “not 100%”.
The team had brought a new upgrade package with them to Montreal. The MAC-26 came into the 2026 F1 Canadian GP weekend with an updated front wing, floor, diffuser and rear suspension. However, despite the slight improvement in pace, the weekend was still one defined by challenges and inconsistency for the Finnish driver.
Bottas was the sole finisher for Cadillac at the 2026 F1 Canadian GP and finished last of those who saw the flag in P16. His teammate Sergio Pérez retired on lap 39 due to a suspension failure. He stays above Pérez in the Drivers’ Championship in P19.
Bottas does not regret starting on intermediate tyre at the 2026 F1 Canadian GP
At the 2026 F1 Canadian GP, some of the teams chose to start on intermediate tyres due to the projected heavy rainfall. Among these teams were McLaren, Audi and Cadillac.
However, the decision ultimately backfired when weather conditions cleared following the start of the race, quickly drying the track. This hence led to early pit stops for the majority of the drivers on intermediate tyres, including Bottas himself.
Bottas reflected on the starting laps of the 2026 F1 Canadian GP and shared that he wished he and the team had taken better advantage of the incidents during the opening laps. The Finnish driver added that he did not regret the gamble to start on intermediates as he would have struggled with his MAC-26 regardless.
“Yeah, we were predicting a big mess on the first lap, so maybe we could have capitalised on the injuries at least by staying on track. But I think the rain kind of faded away pretty quickly. Like you said, I think it was worth trying. The result would not have been different in any case today.
“It was a tough day out there with the balance today. The car was over-rotating everywhere, oversteering, and I was fully locked with the diff[erential] and everything. We just couldn’t cure it, so we need to have a look at what went wrong there.”
A “lonely race” for Bottas
For the majority of the 2026 F1 Canadian GP, Bottas was isolated from the rest of the field. His struggles with the MAC-26 and a lack of place rendered him unable to battle with other drivers on the track. The Finn added that it was tough to build momentum due to the numerous blue flags he received during the race.
While he was alone for the majority of the race, Bottas was also able to witness the on-track battle between the championship leaders George Russell and Kimi Antonelli. An experience he recounts as exciting.
“Yeah, actually, I saw them doing the overtake, so I had a good seat for some battles. Otherwise, it was a lonely race, sadly. Lots of blue flags, so it’s kind of hard to keep the rhythm.”
Bottas reflects on the 2026 F1 Canadian GP weekend
The majority of the grid seemed to struggle with the soft tyres on Saturday, Bottas and Pérez included. The 36-year-old shared that this was one of the leading factors that led Cadillac to ultimately decide to start both drivers on intermediate tyres.
However, the decision ultimately backfired when track temperatures drastically dropped, and the weather cleared.
“We did one lap to the grid with Slick, and I could feel that we just couldn’t switch it on. That’s why the decision on the intermediates. Today, the temperatures really dropped, and the warm-up was very tricky.”
While his teammate showed significant improvement in pace and had his most competitive weekend thus far this season, Bottas struggled with his car since the beginning of the weekend on Friday. The Finnish driver had even dropped out of Parc Fermé to make changes prior to the Sprint.
This meant the car continued to change for Bottas throughout the weekend, and he continued to face problems with each new set-up. He added that he knows his MAC-26 is still “not 100%”.
The ten-time race winner finished four laps down, along with Lance Stroll.
“We’ve had a few issues this weekend with the set-up. The car has been very different on each session, and even today there were some things that we couldn’t fix, so the car is not 100%. For sure it’s not yet in a place that I can gain a good confidence with the car, but also we know that my car was 100%.”
