Cadillac has reduced its front brake temperature by 100C, Valtteri Bottas has revealed, curing one of the nascent Formula 1 team’s Achilles’ heels.
Brake overheating has been a major issue with the MAC-26, forcing Bottas into retirement in Hungary, Monaco and Austria, with the problem also taking Sergio Perez out of the Red Bull Ring race.
On top of this, the overheating meant Cadillac drivers had to nurse the issue throughout the recent Spanish Grand Prix.
The squad updated its inlet scoop and aperture surfaces at the Hungaroring, which did little to alleviate the problem, but the upgraded cooling inlet and exit duct profiles introduced at the Azerbaijan GP have been more successful.
When asked by Motorsport.com how the fix was working, Bottas replied: “Good, we've reduced about 100 degrees of brake temperature, based on numbers from the previous spec, so that gives us more margin, for sure.” The hot Sepang circuit could now be a litmus test this weekend.
Meanwhile, Perez described Ferrari’s ADUO 2 power unit upgrade as being worth “just a tenth and a half”.
“Not quite the step we needed, but everything counts,” he added.
Sergio Perez, Cadillac Racing
Photo by: Guido De Bortoli / LAT Images via Getty Images
Perhaps Cadillac’s new recruits will contribute to bigger steps for next year. Last weekend, the team announced three signings in the engineering field – former Red Bull chief designer Craig Skinner, former Aston Martin deputy tech chief Eric Blandin, and aerodynamicist Tim Lean, who has worked at top teams McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari.
Skinner is now Cadillac’s chief development engineer, Blandin has become its head of aerodynamics, and Lean has joined as chief engineer for aerodynamics modelling and simulation.
“The team is showing how serious they are and how committed they are into Formula 1,” Perez commented. “They are great hires, they are people that are really going to push our team forward. Don't forget that it's just our first season, so this car is very basic, so I have a big hope on next year that we will definitely be moving forward.
“With Craig I've worked and he was really good in the Red Bull organisation, he was very important there.
“Actually he made a very big difference with my floor; I remember coming into Baku when we were struggling with the entry stability, he figured out a packer into the floor, and it transformed my balance and my car. Unfortunately the floor was destroyed after the race with the crash of Carlos [Sainz], and I never got to race it again, but it was a really good step, so he's someone that is really good and understands what are my needs.”
In the meantime, Perez very much expects Cadillac to struggle at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, based on Sepang’s sweeping corners.
“I'm not looking forward to Malaysia,” he said. “I think we will be back to our reality.”
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Originally published by motorsport.com —
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