How Cadillac’s ‘known issue’ led to Valtteri Bottas F1 Miami GP pit lane speeding penalty
Valtteri Bottas has explained why he was penalised for speeding in the Miami F1 pit lane.
A “known issue” with Cadillac's 2026 Formula 1 caused Valtteri Bottas to speed in the pit lane and pick up a penalty at the Miami Grand Prix.
Bottas finished 18th and two laps down in Sunday’s grand prix in Miami after being hit with a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
The FIA stewards punished Bottas after the Cadillac driver was clocked exceeding the pit lane speed limit of 80km/h by 9.5km/h.
Explaining the incident, the Finn said this happened due to a fault with the buttons on Cadillac’s steering wheel.
“I pressed the pit limiter button, but apparently not hard enough,” Bottas told media including Crash.net.
“We’re still lacking feedback on some of the buttons, so another area that we are working on.”
Asked how easy the problem will be to fix, the 36-year-old replied: “It’s been a known issue, we just haven’t got the new buttons yet. So hopefully in the next race.
“It’s one of the things that happens when you start as a new team.”
Bottas is yet to get off the mark with the new Cadillac team so far this season, managing a best result of 13th at the Chinese Grand Prix.
But the 10-time grand prix dismissed suggestions that the start of the season has been frustrating, insisting it is what he “signed up for”.
“It’s not frustration, this is what I signed up for,” Bottas stressed.
“I knew it was going to be difficult times. It was a tough race. After the qualifying yesterday I felt ok on the fresh tyre, but as soon as the tyre degrades, the pace was pretty bad, also compared to Checo. So I need to have a look.
“I think we are struggling a bit with the quality of certain parts. Lots of things to look into.”
Cadillac brought its first-ever major upgrade package to Miami.
The substantial update featured a series of aerodynamic and mechanical parts and was headlined by a revised floor.
According to Bottas, the early signs were encouraging for the American outfit.
“There are a lot of hidden areas that we are improving. The pace sometimes seemed a bit better this weekend, sometimes not. But I think the upgrades worked,” he said.
“Not every part is the same that we put on the car, so there’s a bit of lack of consistency there but overall, it’s getting better and hopefully we are going to make another step in Montreal.”
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Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for Crash.net around the world. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
