Valtteri Bottas casts verdict on Cadillac F1 upgrades after hitting key performance marker

Valtteri Bottas believes that Cadillac remains in a "no man's land" despite upgrades pulling the team closer to the Formula 1 midfield. 

Cadillac has limited expectations for its debut season in Formula 1, but the team has impressed many by merely being able to compete with the midfield, and not falling off the tail of the pack as was the case with previous newcomers, Hispania, Virgin Racing, and Lotus in 2010 - all of which went through various guises before departing the paddock.

The team brought a significant upgrade to Austria, but struggled with reliability, as both Bottas and Sergio Perez suffered with brake fires, before retiring in the opening laps of the grand prix. 

However, the Silverstone weekend was much more promising, and although there were issues along the way, having both drivers reach the flag, with Perez equalling his best result of the season, felt like a step forward. 

"It's definitely good to finish, and the last three races we haven't, so now finally, we did it," said Bottas. 

"Lots of good information, but it's still pretty clear that we're in a little bit of a no man's land over there. But we seemed at times a bit closer to Haas or the Williams."

Having climbed to 16th place in the opening exchanges, when asked if he had been able to cling on to the drivers ahead, Bottas conceded: "Not quite. 

"I think, naturally, we were kind of falling to our place. But that's why I was hoping for the restart at the end. It would have been nice, but a shame that the race finished like that."

Unlike Aston Martin, which is holding back on upgrades before bringing a major package to Hungary, Cadillac will bring more new parts to Belgium next week. 

"We have two weeks to try and make it faster," Bottas said. "I'm sure we will have something in Spa to add to the car. So, we just need to keep chipping away."