The Finn took the wheel of Cadillac’s 2026 car during Monday morning at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, marking both the American outfit’s first proper F1 outing and Bottas’ return to competitive running after spending 2025 as a Mercedes reserve driver.
“It’s great to be back, also with this brand-new team in the sport – it’s a really, really unique situation,” Bottas said after his opening session.
“I really enjoyed getting back on track – this was the first time I drove this car, so it’s just good to be out there.”
Cadillac opted to run on the opening day of the five-day shakedown, with Bottas completing just over 30 laps and finishing seventh on the unofficial times as the team focused on initial system checks rather than outright pace.
As with much of the field, the emphasis was firmly on early learning rather than performance.
“Obviously performance-wise I wouldn’t say much yet – the main thing is we’ve got some running done,” Bottas explained.
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“At the end we got a little bit longer run in, so these are the first steps of debugging and getting everything to work better.”
Conditions added to the challenge during the morning, with low temperatures making tyre behaviour difficult to assess.
Bottas confirmed the team encountered some issues during the session, something he stressed was to be expected at this stage of the programme.
“It was cold! Early morning, it’s quite hard to get the tyres to work here, as we know,” he said.
“As the temperature picked up things got a bit better.
“We had some issues throughout the day. Like I said, it’s debugging – that’s why we’re here, and it seems like every team had some issues.
“It’s just now really figuring out those and then getting more and more running each day. But it’s just great to be here and in the car.”
Beyond the on-track running, Bottas offered a positive assessment of the environment he has found at Cadillac as the squad builds towards its debut season.
Having joined the team alongside Sergio Perez, Bottas said the challenge of starting from scratch has been matched by the commitment of those involved.
“I really enjoy everything so far with the team,” he said.
“Everyone is looking at things with fresh eyes, with a different angle.
“We have lots of experience from different teams, and everyone has been working so hard to be here.
“Starting from zero, it’s a bigger challenge than what the other teams had, I think. So I’m very proud of everyone so far and I’m enjoying it.”
The Barcelona Shakedown also represents Bottas’ first extended exposure to F1’s radically revised 2026 regulations, with the Finn highlighting the scale of the adjustment facing drivers and teams alike.
“It’s definitely a big difference to before,” he said.
“The cars handle different; we have a bit less load, especially in the high-speed corners.
“The PU, you have so much more torque out of the corners, but then you have the battery to manage.
“And again, for Ferrari this is the first proper day of running with their power unit, so naturally there’s a learning curve.
“Still lots to learn, lots to improve, but it’s quite a challenge for every team.”
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